SACRIFICIAL GIVING OR THE ART OF GIVING CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

 "If you make a sacrifice for someone you care about, it needs to be because you want to, not because you feel obligated or because you fear the consequences of not doing so.

"If your partner is going to make a sacrifice for you, it needs to be because he or she genuinely wants to, not because you’ve manipulated the sacrifice through anger or guilt.

"Acts of love are valid only if they’re performed without conditions or expectations." -- "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson

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Reading this quote from Mark Manson this morning, I couldn't help but think about our practice of giving Christmas presents. Are they being given without condition, as an act of love and sacrifice, or are they being given with the tacit assumption that I am going to receive something in return?

Similarly, can we learn to receive gifts without feeling an onus to respond in kind or without feelings of guilt?

I have seen such feelings create an obstacle to grace in the church, as people often refuse sacrifices or blessings from others or won't make needs known, because of a pervasive idea that we are expected to respond similarly.

As a pastor once counseled me when I objected to receiving a sacrificial gift, "Don't take my blessing from me. Let me bless you in this way because God has blessed me."

Something to think about as we continue to celebrate the greatest gift of all, the birth of our Savior at Christmas -- a gift we could never repay (and shouldn't feel like we have to... Ephesians 2:8-9).

SERMON: THE KINGDOM OF THE MESSIAH

  

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 42:1-7

 

Isaiah 42:1“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

    my chosen one in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him,

    and he will bring justice to the nations.

2 He will not shout or cry out,

    or raise his voice in the streets.

3 A bruised reed he will not break,

    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

4     he will not falter or be discouraged

till he establishes justice on earth.

    In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

 

5 This is what God the Lord says—

the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,

    who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,

    who gives breath to its people,

    and life to those who walk on it:

6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;

    I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and will make you

    to be a covenant for the people

    and a light for the Gentiles,

7 to open eyes that are blind,

    to free captives from prison

    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

 

            -- right around the turn of the 21st century, a local TV station interviewed an elderly gentleman who was turning 100 years old to ask him about his life -- the reporter introduced him and then turned and asked him this question -- “Sir, you have seen amazing technological inventions in the course of your lifetime -- from the automobile becoming our most common mode of transportation -- to the use of airplanes -- to televisions and computers and now cell phones -- from your perspective, what has been the greatest technological miracle to come about in your lifetime?”

            -- well, the man thought about it for just a second, and said, “The greatest miracle I have seen in my lifetime is the thermos” -- the reporter looked at him and said, “The thermos?  Why the thermos?”

            -- the man said, “Well, in the summertime, I put my iced tea in there and it stays cold all day long -- and in the winter time, I put my coffee in there, and the thermos keeps it hot” -- the reporter replied, “Well, yes, that’s how a thermos works -- but what makes that a miracle?”

            -- the old man replied, “How does it know?”

 

            -- well, the greatest miracle in the Bible is like this old man’s thermos -- it’s also the one that gets mentioned the least, at least in that context -- the greatest miracle in the Bible wasn’t the parting of the Red Sea -- it wasn’t the Passover in Egypt -- it wasn’t the walls of Jericho crashing at the sounds of the trumpets -- and it wasn’t the feeding of the five thousand or the many healings of Jesus or His walking on the water

            -- no, the greatest miracle in the Bible happened on a still and silent night in the dark of winter with little to no fanfare -- the greatest miracle in the Bible came through the cries of a baby in the night as God wrapped Himself in human flesh and became one of us so that He might save all of us

            -- the coming of the Messiah on the first Christmas is the greatest miracle to date -- but the greatest is yet to come -- when Jesus comes again to be our Lord and our King to reign over us for eternity on earth

            -- it is this second coming -- this second advent -- that the world longs for in their heart, whether they actually realize it or not -- it is the second coming of Jesus that all creation groans for in anticipation -- and it is the reason that we gather and celebrate today

 

            -- we see the miracle of the Messiah and His ministry, both in His first advent and His second, described to us by the prophet Isaiah in this familiar passage from Isaiah 42

            -- this passage was written by Isaiah in a time of transition for the nation of Israel -- it’s a time when the power of the Kingdom of Babylon was waning and the Kingdom of the Medes and Persians was gaining prominence through King Cyrus

            -- it was a time when the Jewish exiles in Babylon began to turn their eyes towards Jerusalem and Israel with hopes of the restoration of the Jewish kingdom -- so, God gave Isaiah this prophecy of a greater kingdom that was to come -- of a kingdom greater than just a Jewish kingdom to look forward to -- the coming of His anointed servant -- God’s Messiah

            -- let’s look back at this passage together and see what we can learn about the advent of the Messiah through Isaiah’s prophecies

 

II.  Scripture Lesson (Isaiah 42:1-7)

 

            A.  The Messiah brings justice (vs. 1-4)

            -- look back at verse 1

 

Isaiah 42:1“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

    my chosen one in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him,

    and he will bring justice to the nations.

2 He will not shout or cry out,

    or raise his voice in the streets.

3 A bruised reed he will not break,

    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

4     he will not falter or be discouraged

till he establishes justice on earth.

    In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

 

            -- this passage opens with a description of the titles and character of the Messiah

            -- He will be known as “the servant whom God upholds” and “the chosen one in whom God delights”

            -- in other words, He is blessed and empowered by God and brings glory to God in all that He does and all that He is -- in all aspects of His nature and character and actions the Messiah brings God glory and honor and delight

 

            -- He is able to do so because the Spirit of God will be upon Him -- in those days, the Spirit of God did not indwell people as He does now -- instead, the Spirit would come upon people for a time or a season as He was sent by the Father to accomplish God’s will and God’s purpose

            -- to be an effective and righteous ruler, a king needed the Spirit of God to be upon him -- He needed the Holy Spirit to give him wisdom and counsel and power -- but not all the kings of Israel were blessed with the Spirit of God -- and that’s part of the reason why so many kings failed to lead Israel as God would have them do and why so many led Israel into idolatry

            -- but Isaiah tells us that the Spirit of God will be on the Messiah from the very beginning -- as we know from the gospels, it was the Holy Spirit who overshadowed Mary and brought about Jesus’ conception and birth -- we see the Holy Spirit at His baptism, as it descends upon Him in the form of dove falling from heaven to earth -- and, as it says in John 4:1, the Spirit of God filled Jesus as He began His ministry on earth

            -- the Spirit was always upon Him and with Him and in Him so that He could accomplish the Father’s will and purpose

 

            -- we see the first act of the Messiah in fulfilling the will of God here in verse 1 -- He will bring truth and justice to the nations -- other translations say that He will bring judgment on the nations -- so, what does the Bible mean when it says that?

            -- “justice is the practical outworking of righteousness -- it refers to the way [righteousness and right living] is applied in our personal lives and in social institutions -- In ancient Israel the responsibility of the king as a servant of God was to establish righteousness and justice in the nation.

            -- “And now [Isaiah tells us that] God is going to send this new servant…the Messiah -- to bring justice to the world -- to establish things according to God's standard and patterns -- [and] to set things the way they're supposed to be in our hearts, our homes, our cities, our nation, and our world.

            -- “It is clear in these verses that it is only the servant of the Lord who can align things in our world with the Lord's standard; there is no other alternative.”¹

 

            -- so, when we read of God’s servant bringing justice to the nations it means that the Messiah will hold the nations and the people to the standard of the Lord God Almighty -- it means that we’re not going to be judged by how good we are compared to another person or another nation -- it means that we’re not going to be judged based on the amount of good that we do versus the amount of bad -- the sins and failures -- in our lives

            -- no, we are going to be judged according to the ideal, perfect standard of God’s word -- the image of the Messiah Himself

 

            -- it’s like the dog shows that Kim goes to -- think about the Westminster Dog Show in New York that is on TV every year -- I imagine most of you have seen that at some point -- now, when all of those dogs are in the ring, the judge isn’t looking at them to pick out which one looks better than the rest -- the judge is not comparing the dogs to one another -- instead, the judge is comparing them to the breed standard -- the ideal image of what that particular breed of dog should look like -- and then they select the dog in the ring that best measures up to the ideal image or standard for that breed

            -- that’s what justice looks like in God’s kingdom -- it is not comparing ourselves to others -- it is comparing ourselves to God’s perfect standard for our behavior and our character and our spirits -- and when we are compared to the perfect, we find that all of us fall short

 

            -- that’s why the Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God -- it’s because none of us can compare to Jesus -- none of us can compare to Him -- none of us are righteous and just and faithful and holy as He is -- and for that reason, all of us stand condemned -- that is why the Messiah came in the first place

            -- He came on Christmas morning so that He could show us what it means to live with God and for God and to take our place and pay the punishment for our sins on the cross -- He came so that we could receive forgiveness of our sins and eternal life through Him by receiving His righteousness imputed to us all

            -- this passage tells us that the Messiah will look at the nations and the hearts of the people and judge them based on God’s holy law -- and not only judge them to see whether they measure up or not, but to pour out His grace and mercy and power into us so that we will be created new and made perfect in His eyes through His sanctifying grace

            -- justice in this passage means that wrongs will be righted and injustices corrected so that His kingdom will be made perfect in the eyes of the Father

            -- in other words, justice means bringing the rule of God into our lives and conforming ourselves to His image and not to the image of the world any longer

 

            -- in verse 2 we read that the Messiah will not shout or cry out -- that He will not raise His voice in the street

            -- the work of Jesus in our midst is not one of fanfare -- He does not call out in a loud voice to get our attention -- He does not get on a loudspeaker so that people will come to hear Him -- He works quietly in the midst of the hustle and bustle of our lives -- and His voice and His word only comes to those who have ears to hear and hearts to receive

            -- we’re just coming through a trying election in our land and we’re facing an upcoming runoff election here in Georgia -- and for the last year, you couldn’t watch TV or turn on the internet or the radio or pick up the newspaper without hearing some candidate standing up and self-aggrandizing -- proclaiming themselves to be greater than the rest and talking down the rest of their competition

            -- Jesus doesn’t do that -- He didn’t do that when He was on earth physically among us -- He didn’t stand up in the temple and say, “Look at me” -- instead He walked among the people as one of them -- ministering to their needs -- healing their hurts and their sicknesses -- healing their spirits -- and pointing them back to the right path

            -- Jesus never called attention to Himself, but took on the role of a servant -- even to the point of humbling Himself and washing His disciples’ feet -- even to the point of going to the cross for no crime or sins of His own

            -- the thing to remember from this passage is that it is not what we say -- it is not the proclamations we make about ourselves or our churches or our nation -- that have any lasting impact -- instead, it is what we do and who we are that the world hears more than anything

 

            -- Isaiah tells us that He protects the bruised reed and the smoldering wick -- the hurt and the broken and the damaged among us -- the poor, the widows, the orphans, the strangers in our land

            -- the world tends to look past these except at certain times of the year -- food banks and soup kitchens and homeless shelters have no end of volunteers and donations at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but have no one to help and dwindling supplies the rest of the year

            -- the world tends to look for those who have power and prestige and who can help them in their desire to move up -- I was asked to represent Moody Air Force Base at a meeting one time with local dignitaries -- and when I walked in the door, everyone turned to look at me -- to size me up -- a local representative made eye contact with me and very pointedly turned away -- I was not worth his time -- he felt I had no value to him, especially because it wasn’t election season -- I never voted for him again because I knew at that moment that he did not care for bruised reeds or smoldering wicks, despite his campaign rhetoric -- he only cared about those who could further his career

            -- but this is not the way with our Messiah -- Jesus always looked after the poor and the hungry and the hurting -- He brought healing to those who needed it -- and offered healing to those who didn’t know they needed it -- people such as the Pharisees and the high priest and those who were in power

            -- Jesus excludes no one from His grace and gives to all who will receive, especially those who are hurting and broken

 

            -- listening to message this week from Jeff Schreve -- he quoted the saying carved on the bottom of the statue of liberty -- “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore -- send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

            -- how far our country has fallen from the sentiments of that quotation -- how far our churches have fallen from being the people of the Messiah who call out to these same people in Jesus’ name -- who actively care for the bruised reeds and smoldering wicks -- the broken and hurting in our midst

            -- this passage calls us to establish a bruised reed ministry in our hearts and our homes and our churches -- this passage calls us to reach out with healing hands to the hurt and the broken among us -- to be like the Messiah and to be His hands and feet in this world

            -- that is what His kingdom will look like -- and that is what His kingdom’s subjects should be doing until He returns

 

            B.  The Messiah is our Righteousness (vs. 5-6a)

            -- look back at verse 5

 

5 This is what God the Lord says—

the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,

    who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,

    who gives breath to its people,

    and life to those who walk on it:

6a “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;

    I will take hold of your hand.

 

 

            -- notice who it is who has called and sent the Messiah to us -- it is the Lord God Almighty -- the Creator of the heavens and the earth -- the One who formed us in His image and breathed His breath into our bodies -- the One who gives us life, both physical and spiritual

            -- it was the plan of God the Father from the very beginning to send Jesus to us as our Savior and Messiah -- God incarnate -- fully God and fully man -- so that He might restore righteousness to creation

 

            -- One of the key ideas in the Bible is that of righteousness -- we see the word, “righteous” over 230 times in the Scriptures -- At its most basic level, righteousness means "something that is the way it was meant to be."

            -- in speaking of the righteousness of God, the Bible means God’s holiness and majesty and glory -- in terms of our relationship to God, to be righteous means we are in a right relationship with Him -- it means we are following His commands -- we are living in Him and He in us -- we are one with Him and with each other -- and, finally, in terms of our personal lives, to be righteousness refers to who we are -- to our actions and our behavior and our character -- to how well we reflect the image of Christ to the world around us

            -- righteousness is a gift from God -- it is the outpouring of His justifying and sanctifying grace

            -- there are two types of righteousness that the Bible refers to in our lives -- the first is imputed righteousness -- that is the righteousness of Jesus that comes from the cross and is passed down to us and covers us like a mantle when we believe in Him and turn to Him for forgiveness of our sins

            -- the second is imparted righteousness -- this is the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives working within us to make our nature and our character match the righteousness of Jesus that covers us -- in other words, imparted righteousness is the act of sanctification -- the act of becoming holy as God is holy

            -- this is the righteousness that Isaiah speaks of here -- this is the righteousness that the Messiah brings -- this is the righteousness we find in His kingdom for all eternity

 

            C.  The Messiah is Our Covenant (vs. 6b)

            -- look back at the second part of verse 6b

 

I will keep you and will make you

    to be a covenant for the people

    and a light for the Gentiles,

 

 

            -- when God says here that He will make the Messiah to be a covenant for the people, this is a reference to Jesus’ death on the cross, for all covenants are made through the shedding of blood

            -- from the very first covenant made with Adam and Eve after the fall, when God shed the blood of an animal to make coverings for them -- to the sacrifices of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- to the blood on the doorpost at the Passover -- to the sacrifices made in the Jewish temple -- all covenants are made through the shedding of blood

            -- in this case, the Messiah would shed His own blood to establish a new covenant with us -- Jesus would become our sacrifice -- offering Himself as the perfect and final sacrifice -- once for all -- that we might be washed in His blood and presented to God holy and without blemish, standing in the imputed righteousness of Jesus

            -- that’s why the Messiah is called the covenant-maker here in this verse -- it is because He is the new covenant, given to us through His very own body and blood -- a covenant of grace and not laws -- a covenant built on a single command of love -- to love the Lord our God with all our body, mind, soul and strength and to love our neighbor as ourself

 

            -- it is that covenant that becomes the light of the world -- it is the covenant of the Messiah -- the covenant of love -- that calls to all people in all the nations and not just to the Jews -- it is the covenant of the Messiah that beckons us to come and be with Him -- that shines out as a beacon of safety and security to all Creation

 

            D.  The Messiah brings freedom (vs. 7)

            -- verse 7

 

7 to open eyes that are blind,

    to free captives from prison

    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

 

 

            -- Isaiah tells us that the Messiah will open blind eyes -- this is not just a prophecy of Jesus’ healing of the blind -- instead, it is speaking of spiritual blindness -- and this verse tells us that the Messiah will open the eyes of our heart with spiritual truth and understanding and lead us from our spiritual blindness into spiritual light

            -- we read that the Messiah will release captives from their prisons and bring others forth from their dungeons into the light of His word -- through His death and resurrection, Jesus has freed us from the chains of sin and death -- He descended to the very depths of Hades and Sheol to preach to the captives there and to bring them into His light

            -- and even today, He continues to free us by giving us power over temptation and over all the sins that so easily entangle

            -- He sets us free from the diseases that overtake us -- He frees us from the power of Satan and the flesh that bind us

            -- the Kingdom of the Messiah is a kingdom of freedom -- of light and love and life for all eternity

 

III.  CLOSING

            -- Several hundred years before the birth of Jesus, there was a battle between the Greeks and the Persians on the plains of Marathon -- The battle raged for hours -- it was a brutal conflict -- a true fight to the finish.

            -- Finally, the underdogs -- the numerically inferior Greeks -- managed a tremendous tactical win, but there was a problem -- the leaders of the Greek army knew that the Greek Senate was going to meet to vote on terms of surrender to the Persians -- they did not know that the Greeks had won the battle and that there was no need to surrender

            -- so, they sent a runner in full battle gear to go the twenty-seven miles to tell of the news of the battle before the Senate could vote -- By the time the young boy got to Athens, he had literally run himself to death -- he ran into the Senate chambers, and in his exhaustion, he was able to utter only one word: "Victory."²

 

            -- Today we come to church with the sound of Advent and Christmas in our ears -- we come to celebrate our Savior who was born at Christmas -- we come to celebrate the cross and the empty tomb -- we come because we have heard the glad news of resurrection and the forgiveness of our sins

            -- but we also gather in anticipation of the next Advent -- the second coming of Jesus --  the time when Isaiah’s prophecy will be realized -- when God’s kingdom will be established and He will rule on earth with us for eternity

            -- what one word can we raise up this morning to a listening world to let them know of the reason we gather -- of the hope we hold even when all about us seems lost in darkness? -- may I suggest:  Victory -- for that is what Advent and Christmas and Easter are all about

            -- that is what the coming of the Messiah is all about -- that is why we are here

            -- so, let us close now with thoughts of victory in our heart as we continue to celebrate Advent and Christmas together and look forward to the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

            -- let us pray

 

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1 Rev. Doug Goins, A Servant for Turbulent Times

2 Rev Brett Blair, Rev. Brett Blair's Illustrations by Email, www.sermonillustrations.com

SERMON: THE HOUND OF HEAVEN

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Jonah 1:1-3

 

Jonah 1:1The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

 

3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

 

            -- I borrowed the title of today’s message from the famous poem by Francis Thompson of the same name -- Although Thompson was a follower of Christ, he struggled in his life with poverty and poor health, eventually becoming addicted to opium -- leading to a familiar spiral into depression and despair and a turning away from life and friends and family

            -- but God kept reaching out to Thompson -- He wouldn’t let him go, even as Thompson tried to flee from Him -- in his poem, Thompson described his flight from God: "I fled him, down the nights and down the days. I hid from him, and under running laughter. I sped … from those strong feet that followed, followed after [me]."

            -- but no matter how hard he tried to flee -- no matter where he tried to hide -- the unrelenting love of Jesus pursued him with "unhurrying chase, and unperturbed pace, deliberate speed, and majestic instancy [or urgency]." -- describing Jesus as the hound of heaven who would not leave the scent of the one He was tracking, Thompson wrote that he heard the feet of Jesus beating after him as Jesus calls, "All things betray those who betray me."

            -- reflecting on the metaphor of Jesus as the Hound of Heaven, Jon Stott wrote: “if it were not for the gracious pursuit of the hound of heaven I would today be on the scrap-heap of wasted and discarded lives”¹ -- many of us could say the same, including Jonah -- who is the poster child of a person hounded by God until he eventually surrenders to God’s will and returns to follow God’s path

 

            -- the Book of Jonah is an interesting book -- a very familiar book -- one we have all known from childhood, whether we went to church or not -- when I told you to turn in your Bibles to the Book of Jonah, I bet that every one of you thought the same thing to yourself -- “this is the story of Jonah and the whale”

            -- but that’s where we get it all wrong -- the Book of Jonah is not the story of Jonah and the whale -- in fact, the fish is only mentioned four times in the entire book and Jonah is only mentioned 18 times -- but God is mentioned more than twice that

            -- that tells us that this book is about God and how He deals with people who want their own way and who refuse to obey His will -- specifically, in this story, Jonah and the Ninevites

            -- so, this morning, we’re going to look at the familiar story of Jonah and see how God pursues His reluctant and wayward prophet to compel him to preach a message of warning to the wicked Ninevites

           

II.  The Reluctant Preacher (Jonah 1:1-17)

            -- Jonah was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel from 780 to 750 BC during the time of King Jeroboam II -- we read of his ministry and his earlier prophecies in Israel in 2 Kings 14:24-25, where he prophesied peace and prosperity to the kingdom after a long period of war

            -- but we mostly know Jonah from this book that was written about a missionary journey he undertook to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria

 

            -- look back at verse 1

 

Jonah 1:1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

 

3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

 

4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

 

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

 

7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

 

9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

 

10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)

 

11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

 

12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

 

13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.

 

Jonah’s Prayer

17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

 

            – as Jonah is ministering in Israel, we read that the word of the Lord came to him and told him to go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because God had found the city wicked

            -- you’d think Jonah would have leapt at the opportunity to proclaim God’s wrath and judgment on this evil nation that would ultimately conquer Israel – but, instead, we read that Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish, a city on the Iberian Peninsula, in what is now modern-day Spain

            -- he went down to Joppa and got on a ship headed for Tarshish to flee the Lord

            -- in other words, when God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach, Jonah said, “I don’t want to prophet today” and so he booked a cruise to leave his life behind

 

            -- why did Jonah do this? – some people say it was fear of the danger – that he was scared of the people in Nineveh or he was scared of the journey – but that wasn’t it – in terms of danger, it was far more dangerous to take a water passage across the Mediterranean Sea in the boats they used then than it would have been to join one of the camel caravans that routinely made the route to Nineveh to trade

            -- and even if he delivered an unpopular message, it was unlikely the people of Nineveh would react by trying to kill him – even as the prophet of a God they did not follow, they still would have recognized his calling and would have respected his position – so, his physical life was probably not in danger

            -- no, Jonah ran because he knew God and he knew God’s mercy and grace -- he knew what God intended in sending him to preach a message of warning to the people of Nineveh, the capital of the nation of Assyria -- he knew they might repent and be saved from God’s judgment and wrath -- and he didn’t want this to happen

            -- he hated the Ninevites, with good reason, because they were Israel’s worst enemy

            -- the Ninevites were renowned for their sins of violence, cruelty, pride, and gross idolatry -- if you went to the British Museum, there are spectacular wall reliefs depicting Assyrian battles -- one of these, a relief showing the famous siege of Lachish, shows multiple images of Judeans being impaled on stakes and stacks of disembodied heads that the Assyrian soldiers turned in for bounty

            -- and now Assyria had started harassing the nation of Israel -- in fact, after Jonah’s day, Assyria would conquer Israel and take the people into captivity

            -- so, I understand Jonah’s reluctance in following God’s command to go to Nineveh and preach to them -- he hated them -- and he didn’t want anything good to happen to them

            -- he knew that if he preached the truth of God’s word to them, they would hear and God would change their lives and turn them from their wicked ways – over in Jonah 4:3, after this happens -- just as he feared -- he laments to God, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? – That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish – I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending a calamity”

            -- so, Jonah tried to run away from God so that God could not use him to bring revival to the Assyrian nation -- he fled because he was worried and depressed and didn’t like where things were headed and he wanted to see the nation of Assyria suffer and feel God’s wrath

 

            -- there’s an old cliché that says, “No matter where you go, there you are” -- what that means is that you can’t run away from your life -- and, as this passage shows, you can’t run away from God, either

            -- when Jonah got on that boat and started out towards Tarshish, he thought he was leaving his problems behind -- he probably thought that if he wasn’t there, then God’s word wouldn’t go to Nineveh and they would be condemned for their sins -- and, he probably thought, if I just go and hide in the Gentile lands, I won’t have to hear from God anymore -- I won’t have to carry His message to people I don’t like -- I won’t have to prophet anymore -- I can just be who I want to be and live how I want to live -- no more responsibilities -- no more worries -- no more cares

            -- but, God didn’t let Jonah off that easy -- we read that God sent a storm of such magnitude against Jonah’s ship that the seasoned sailors onboard were in fear for their lives -- they cried out to their gods -- they threw the cargo overboard to lighten the load -- but nothing worked -- the storm continued to rage, and the men realized it was a supernatural event

            -- eventually, they realize that God had sent the storm against them because of Jonah -- and they end up throwing him overboard into the heart of the storm -- immediately, the raging sea grew calm -- leading the sailors to fear the Lord and worship Him with sacrifices and vows

            -- but God wasn’t done with Jonah -- He provided a great fish to swallow him, and Jonah stayed there for three days and three nights

 

            -- many times, we try to follow Jonah’s path and flee to Tarshish in our heart when the word of God comes to us -- we do this when we come up with excuses for reading the Bible and following God’s commands -- we do this when we hold grudges and refuse to forgive others, including our family and our friends and even ourselves

            -- we do this when we hate other people for what they believe or for their differences -- when we are so prejudiced against them that we won’t speak God’s word to them and disobey God by hating them in our hearts

            -- we do this when we pick and choose what commands of God we will follow -- doing just the things that are easy and that we agree with and not the things we don’t want to do -- to refuse to obey God is to run away from Him

            -- we may not board a boat like Jonah did, but we constantly flee to Tarshish in our hearts

 

            -- but the Hound of Heaven is persistent -- when God is calling you to respond to His word -- whether that’s salvation or repentance or a ministry mission like Jonah’s -- He will continue to call you and use storms and trials and troubles and even great fish to get your attention and to lead you back to Him

            -- Jonah’s time in the fish was enlightening -- he had a change of heart -- and after a lengthy discussion with God, Jonah surrendered to the call and agreed to go to Nineveh -- in Jonah 2:10, we read that God commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land

 

            -- turn over to Chapter 3

 

Jonah 3:1Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3a Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh

 

            -- this is why we call it amazing grace -- our God is the God of the second chance -- and the third chance -- and the fourth chance -- and so on

            -- our God is gracious with us -- He shows us His mercies every day -- and when we turn back to Him, we experience His grace and love in our life as never before

            -- despite his disobedience -- despite his flagrant rebellion in running the opposite direction of Nineveh, God forgave Jonah his sins and spoke to Him a second time, telling him again to go to Nineveh and preach the message that he would be given

            -- verse three shows the result of a repentant heart -- “Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh”

 

            -- when Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night He was betrayed, He asked the Father three times if there was another way -- if there might be another path by which we could be saved other than His death on the cross -- but in the end, Jesus spoke these words to the Father, “not My will, but Thine be done”

            -- this is where God wants us -- this is where God wants our hearts -- He wants us to follow the path of Jonah -- not in fleeing from Him, but in returning to Him -- in confession and repentance for our sins and transgressions and saying, “Not our will, but Thine be done”

            -- that is what Jonah has done as he enters the gates of Nineveh

 

            -- look back at the second part of verse 3

 

Jonah 3:3b Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

 

6 When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:

 

“By the decree of the king and his nobles:

 

Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

 

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

 

            -- I’m sure Jonah was a striking figure that caught everybody’s attention when he showed up at the gate and began to preach -- after three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish, I’m sure he was noticeable

            -- and God used Jonah and Jonah’s personal witness of God’s grace and mercy to reach the hearts of the wicked people of Nineveh -- Jonah proclaimed that Nineveh would be overturned in forty days at the word of the Lord

            -- the people heard the message and were shaken to their core -- from the least to the greatest -- from the cattle in the field to the king on his throne -- the people repented of their sins in sackcloth with great mourning -- they gave up their evil ways and their violence -- they cried out for mercy and grace

            -- and God heard their prayers and saw how they had turned from their evil ways and had compassion on them -- he did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened

 

III.  Closing

            -- so, what is the take-home message from the Book of Jonah? -- it’s easy to go with the crowd and sum up this story with the following points:

 

            -- first, when God calls us to do something, we need to respond immediately -- when the word of the Lord came to him and told him to go to Nineveh, Jonah disobeyed God and tried to flee to Tarshish -- resulting in the storm and his time inside a great fish -- God will use circumstances and situations -- trials and storms and tribulation -- to get us to respond to His word

 

            -- second, we need to have compassion on all people, not just the people we like -- Jonah was prejudiced -- he hated the Ninevites -- he wanted to see them suffer -- but God loves the people we hate just as much as He loves us -- the Bible tells us that God’s word is for all creation -- for all people -- and that we are one in Christ -- so, we need to get over our prejudices and our differences and our hatred and share the word of God with everyone, including those we don’t like

 

            -- but, as valid as those points are, they are superficial to the true meaning of this book -- like I said at the beginning, this not a book about Jonah -- this is a book about God

            -- and the message of this book is the same message that Jesus spoke when He began His ministry -- when Jesus was walking along the shore of Galilee and saw Peter and John at their nets, He said to them, “Come and follow Me”

            -- that’s the message of this book -- it is a call to come and follow Christ -- it is a call to leave all behind and to step into the kingdom of God -- to do so requires a change on our part

 

            -- I heard a story about a lady who was teaching a children's Sunday School class -- she was trying to explain to them in a way they would understand that the only way to get to Heaven was by following Jesus -- she would ask questions, and then all the kids would answer

            -- she asked the children in her Sunday School class, "If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would I get into Heaven?" "NO"! the children all answered.

            -- "If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would I get into Heaven"? Again, the answer was "NO"!

            -- "Well," she continued, "then how can I get to Heaven?" -- In the back of the room, a 5 yr. old boy shouted out, "You gotta be dead"!!!

           

            -- how do you get to heaven? -- how do you follow Jesus when He calls? -- we do it the same way as Jonah and the Ninevites -- we repent -- we make a change -- we turn around and stop going our way and start going God’s way -- literally, the word repent means a change in mind -- a change in will

            -- the Book of Jonah shows the path of God and how He leads us to the point of repentance in our lives so that we will follow Him and enter His kingdom

            -- Jonah had a hard heart, and it took a storm and great fish to turn his prejudice and hard heart back to God

            -- the Ninevites were wicked and cruel, even by the standards of their day -- but they knew their sins -- they knew they were wrong -- and when God’s word came to them through Jonah, they immediately repented and changed their lives and God did not send destruction upon them

 

            -- all of us are Jonah in some way -- all of us here today have something in our lives that we need to turn from -- it might be a hard heart -- it might be prejudice -- it might be hatred towards another race or political persuasion or something else -- it might be a sin that has become a habit -- it might be unforgiveness or a grudge -- it might be a holding back from God in your heart

            -- whatever it is, the Book of Jonah points us to the place of forgiveness and mercy and grace -- to walk the path of God, we must first turn around -- as the saying goes, “God always allows U-turns” -- and He’s calling us to make a u-turn in our life today

            -- so, whatever it is you need to change in your life, I want to encourage you to let it go today -- to follow the path of Jonah and the Ninevites -- repent of it -- turn away from it -- let it go and cry out to God, “Not my will, but Thine be done”

            -- don’t leave here this morning with something holding you back -- because you never know when a storm or a great fish will come your way

            -- let’s pray

 

1 Roger Steer, Basic Christian: The Inside Story of John Stott (IVP Books, 2009), pp. 262-263; submitted by Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky