Our Great God

If you'll turn with me now in your Bibles to the book of Jonah, if you have Bibles,

this is going to be on the screens as well.

If you have the church Bibles, it's Jonah chapter 1.

Jonah 1 · chapter mention

If your Bibles are the same as mine, that's on page 928.

We're going to read Jonah chapter 1.

Jonah 1 · chapter mention

We'll read the whole chapter.

This is going to be the text for our sermon this morning as well.

Let us hear God's word.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai.

Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.

But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.

He went down to Chapa, 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.

Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm rose that the ship threatened to break up.

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.

The captain went to him and said,

How can you sleep?

Get up and call on your God.

Maybe he'll take notice of us so that we will not perish.

Then the sailors said to each other,

Come, let's cast lots to find out who's responsible for this calamity.

They cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

So they asked him,

Tell us, who's responsible for making all this trouble for us?

What kind of work do you do?

Where do you come from?

What's your country?

From what people are you?

He answered,

I'm a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.

This terrified them, and they asked,

What have you done?

They knew he was running away from the Lord because he'd already told them so.

The sea was getting rougher and rougher.

So they asked him,

What should we do to make the sea calm down for us?

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.

Instead, the men did their best to row back to land.

But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.

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.

Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard,

and the raging sea grew calm.

At this, the men greatly feared the Lord,

and they offered sacrifices to the Lord and made vows to him.

Now the Lord provided huge fish to swallow Jonah,

and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

May God bless his word.

Will you bow your heads with me as we pray?

Our Father in heaven,

we again give you thanks that we can know you as our Father.

We give you thanks that we can know that you hear us,

that you are concerned for us.

Once again, we marvel that you have chosen us,

and that you have saved us through your Son.

And we pray that you would continue to be at work within us by your Holy Spirit.

We ask that each day that you would be focusing our thoughts upon you.

We pray, Father, that your name would be honored.

We pray that your kingdom would come,

and that your church would grow.

We rejoice in the Lord Jesus' promise

that he would build his church,

and that the gates of hell would not stand against it.

And so we pray, Father,

that we would see evidence of that in our own time.

We pray for the concert that will soon be taking place.

We pray for your blessing upon that,

that it would be an encouraging time of fellowship.

We thank you for the desire to raise funds for the church plant in Galashiels.

We pray for that church.

We thank you for it.

We pray that you would be with Craig and his family.

We ask that you would bless them.

We pray that you would encourage them.

We pray for the church there.

We ask that you would continue to draw people to it.

We pray for your blessing upon Craig's preaching,

upon his role as minister.

We ask that you would raise up others as leaders in that church.

We pray, Father,

that you would enable them,

not only on Sundays in the preaching of your word,

but we pray that as they go out into the community there,

that you would enable them to live such lives

that would bear good witness to you.

And we pray, Father,

that you would be drawing people to yourself,

and that you would be building your church,

that more and more people would be professing faith in the Lord Jesus

and following him.

We pray, Father,

for our own congregation.

We pray those things for us as well.

We pray that you would be with us as we seek to reach out

to the community around us

and to those people that we have contact with.

We pray, Father,

that you would bless us as a congregation.

We pray that you would be with those

who are going through times of difficulty.

We pray for those

who are experiencing difficulties with their health

or whose loved ones are unwell.

We commit them to you,

and we pray, Father,

for your hand to be upon them.

In all that we face in this world,

we ask, Lord,

that you would be with us.

We pray for those facing financial difficulty.

We ask that you would provide for them.

We pray for those facing difficulties in relationships.

Give them wisdom and grace

as they seek to respond to those situations.

We pray that you would build us together

as a community,

that you would give us a genuine love for one another.

Father,

we think of our own nation.

We pray for the government in Holyrood

and also in Westminster.

We commit these men and women to you.

Humble them, Father.

May they know that there is a God

to whom they are accountable.

We pray that you would give them wisdom

and integrity

as they go about the work

to which you have called them.

We pray, Father,

that you would bless other nations.

We think of the terrible situation

in Israel and in Gaza at this time.

We pray, Father,

for those who have experienced

the loss of loved ones.

We pray for those who are suffering now.

We ask that you would bring an end

to the violence

and the enmity there.

We pray, Father,

for a quick resolution

to the situation.

As we think of these things,

we recognize how beyond us that is.

We recognize how almost impossible

that seems to us.

But we pray, Father,

that you would do this.

And we ask for your church

in that country.

We pray that you would watch over your people,

those who acknowledge the Lord Jesus

as their Savior.

We pray that you would enable them

to be a blessing to those around them.

We pray similarly

for the situation in Ukraine,

a situation that has gone on for so long

that we almost begin to take it for granted.

We pray, Father,

for those who continue to suffer there.

Again, we pray for an end

to that conflict.

We thank you, Father,

for the measure of peace

and prosperity

that we know in our own country.

We do not take these well off,

and we do,

and we confess that.

But we recognize

that this is a gift from you.

And so we pray, Father,

that you would enable us

to make the most of that opportunity

and to make the most

of the freedoms that we have here

to live faithfully to you.

We pray, Father,

that you would continue with us

as we turn now to your word.

Hear our prayers.

Forgive our sins.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to continue our worship now

singing,

Our God Will Go Before Us.

If you would again stand with me

as we sing.

Amen.

Amen.

For every step is faithfulness, is the truth that lights our way.

Our God will go before us, the Lord of hosts is with us.

Oh, praise the one who leads us on, for his grace will bring us home.

Though evil forms against us, all heaven will defend us.

The gates of hell shall not prevail, for the battle is the last.

Our God will go before us, the Lord of hosts is with us.

Oh, praise the one who leads us on, for his grace will bring us home.

Now send us with your presence, and lead us on to heaven.

Where songs of sorrow stray no more, and our every breath is praise.

Our God will go before us, the Lord of hosts is with us.

Oh, praise the one who leads us on, for his grace will bring us home.

Oh, praise the one who leads us on, for his grace will bring us home.

Now our second reading is in the New Testament.

It's in Luke's Gospel.

Luke chapter 18, we'll read verses 9 to 17.

Luke 18 · chapter mention

Let us hear God's word.

To some who are confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable.

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed,

God, I thank you that I am not like other people.

Robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.

But the tax collector stood at a distance.

He wouldn't even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said,

God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.

For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled,

and all those who humble themselves will be exalted.

People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them.

When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.

But Jesus called the children to him and said,

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,

for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Truly, I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

May God bless this word.

If you turn to me again, if you have Bibles with you there,

if you turn back to the book of Jonah,

I'm going to be focusing on that book this morning.

If we were to play a word association game,

and I was to say to you,

Jonah,

you would say,

whale.

whale.

We think of Jonah as the book about a whale.

Jonah and the whale.

Jonah and the big fish.

And in fact,

the book of Jonah

is a book about a lot of big things.

If you look with me in Jonah chapter 1,

Jonah 1 · chapter mention

at verse 2,

you notice that it begins by mentioning

a great city.

Literally a big city.

You notice in verse 4,

then the Lord sent a great wind,

a big wind.

You notice also it mentions a violent storm.

That again is the word big storm.

In verse 10,

we see how people responded to what Jonah told them.

In verse 10,

this terrified them.

Literally they feared a big fear.

In verse 12,

it mentions a great storm,

a big storm again.

In verse 16,

we're back to fear.

The men greatly feared the Lord.

They feared Yahweh with a great fear.

In verse 17,

now the Lord provided a huge fish,

a great fish,

a big fish.

It gets translated different ways in English,

but in the original,

all of that is the same word.

And in fact,

if we were to carry on,

if we were to look in chapter 4,

for example,

to Jonah,

this seemed very wrong

and he became very angry.

He had a big anger.

And notice in verse 6 of that chapter,

then the Lord provided a leafy plant

and made it grow up over Jonah

to give shade for his head

and to ease his discomfort.

And Jonah was very happy.

He had great joy.

Over and over and over again,

the book of Jonah

tells us about big things.

It's a very little book

about a lot of big things.

A big city,

a big wind,

a big storm,

big fear,

big fish,

big evil,

big joy,

lots and lots of big things.

Now,

when an author does that,

typically,

they want you to notice.

The author of the book of Jonah

is making a point

by telling us about

all of these big things.

But his point

isn't about a big fish

or a big fear

or a big storm.

The author of the book of Jonah

is wanting to impress upon you

the fact that there is

a big God.

The book of Jonah

is about the majesty

and the greatness of God.

And maybe

this is a particularly good time

for us to hear about that.

We should probably acknowledge

all of the time

that our lives are uncertain

and that our lives are short.

But sometimes

we particularly come

to appreciate that.

just within the last

little bit more than a week,

suddenly,

there's war

in the Middle East.

We take it for granted

now,

I think,

often,

sadly,

but there's even war

in Europe.

That should be shocking

to us.

And it's very troubling

to us.

And there are so many

other things.

In the journal Nature

that they've noted,

we talk often

about the climate crisis

and the environmental crisis.

And psychiatrists

sometimes talk about

the way that that

preys on people's mind

and the effect

that that has

upon people's mental health.

And particularly

younger people

who are disproportionately

affected by that.

The article in Nature

links it

to PTSD,

post-traumatic stress disorder,

anxiety,

depression,

learning disorder,

anger amongst

young people.

These are terrible things.

We live in a very

stressful time.

And perhaps

in the midst of that,

it's a very good time

for us to be reminded

that there is a God

who is greater

than all of these things.

I want us to look

this morning

at the book of Jonah

and to see what it tells us

about the greatness

of this God.

And we're going to see

two things.

First of all,

the book of Jonah

emphasizes maybe

most obviously

that God is great

in power.

Do you notice

something strange

about verse 9?

They were asking

Jonah,

who on earth

was he

that he had caused

all of this?

And do you notice

his response

in verse 9?

Jonah says,

I'm a Hebrew

and I worship

the Lord,

the God of heaven,

who made the sea

and the dry land.

maybe we'll mention

this again

as we go on,

but if you read

through the book

of Jonah,

everything that

Jonah says

is technically

correct

and completely

orthodox,

even when he's

doing the very

opposite in terms

of his actual

actions.

So the statement

that Jonah

makes here,

it's a very

true statement.

Yahweh is the

God of heaven,

he is the one

who made the sea

and the dry land,

and what is Jonah

doing as he says

that?

Well, he's running

away from the God

who made the sea

on the sea.

And how well

does that go

for Jonah?

It's not working

out very well.

Notice verse 4,

the Lord sent

a great wind

on the sea

and such a

violent storm

arose that the

ship threatened

to break up.

Do you notice

the language

that's used there

in verse 4?

The ship wasn't

being swamped

with water,

it wasn't sort

of slowly sinking.

Apparently,

I only saw

this recently,

over the weekend

were there

several ships

in Granton

Harbor that

filled with

water and

sank.

That's not

what we're told

was happening

to this ship,

it wasn't just

going to founder.

The storm

was so bad

that the ship

was going to

be smashed

to pieces.

Imagine being

at sea in a

ship like that

in that

kind of storm.

It was a

storm of

such power,

the hardened

sailors,

they were

terrified.

But notice

the power

of God

has revealed

in the book

of Jonah,

not just in

these great

obvious things,

notice as well

that it's also

God exerts

his power

and his control

even in the

smallest of details.

miracles.

So notice

in chapter 4

for example,

in verse 6,

then the Lord

provided a

leafy plant.

That single

plant that

grew up

came from

God.

It was under

his control,

under his

power.

The same

word that's

used there

that the Lord

provided this

in verse 8,

when the sun

rose,

God provided

a scorched

east wind.

the wind

that came

was under

God's

control.

That's also

the same

word that's

used back

in verse 17,

when it says

that the Lord

provided a

huge fish.

All of these

things are

manifestations

of the power

and the

control of

God.

God's

control and

his power

is manifest

throughout this

book,

most obviously

in the storm,

but even in

all of the

smallest of

details.

they were

experiencing

the power

of God,

and we

should recognize

that we

experienced

the power

of God

as well.

Creation

itself testifies

to the power

of its

creator.

We saw

something of

that,

didn't we,

over this

weekend even.

Thankfully

here,

I live right

beside the

river,

so I was

very grateful.

Thankfully

here,

it wasn't as

bad as in

some places,

but we've

experienced the

power of that

storm,

the storm

Babbitt

that came.

Before moving

to Musselboro,

my family and

I used to

live in

Skye,

and that

was sort

of like

every October.

We lived

in a very

old house

there,

and it

was a

very

substantial

stone

house

with walls

maybe that

thick.

It was the

mats that

was originally

built in

the 1800s

with the

church,

massive stone

walls.

If you

looked up

into the

crawl space,

up into

the attic,

the timbers

and the

roof were

massive,

big timbers.

It was a

substantial

house,

and you

could sit

in that

house in

October when

the storms

came,

and the

whole thing

would tremble

because of

the force

of the

storms.

We've

experienced

the power

of these

things.

We should

also recognize

that God's

power is

revealed not

just in the

forces of

nature.

The Bible

also tells us

that Jesus'

resurrection is

the greatest

proof of

his power.

There's one

point in the

New Testament

where the

Apostle Paul

speaks about

God's

incomparably

great power,

which he

then goes on

to describe

as God's

mighty strength

which he

exerted when

he raised

Christ from

the dead

and seated

him at his

right hand

in the

heavenly realms

far above

all rule

and authority,

power,

and dominion,

and every

name that is

invoked,

not only in

the present

age,

but also

in the

one to

come.

Two thousand

years ago,

Jesus died,

and three

days later,

he was

raised from

the dead.

And when

that happened,

it was a

manifestation

of God's

incomparably

great power.

God is

overwhelming

in power.

And what

effect should

that have

on us?

If we're

honest,

very often

we behave

like Jonah.

We'll say

a little

bit more

about his

behavior

in a

moment.

But what

we ought

to do,

we see

that

exemplified

in the

sailors.

Do you

notice in

verse 16?

At this,

and what

is this?

This is

in verse 15,

the sea

grew calm.

You'd think

they'd just

be relieved,

go back to

whatever they'd

been doing.

at this

the men

greatly

feared the

Lord,

and they

offered

sacrifices

to the

Lord,

and made

vows to

him.

These

people were

previously

pagans.

In verse

5,

we tell

that they

were told

that they

had been

worshipping

all of

their own

gods.

Now,

they fear

Yahweh,

and they

worship

Yahweh.

when we

go out

and we

see the

majesty

and the

grandeur

of the

creation

around us,

when we

experience

something of

the power

of the

forces of

nature,

which

reveal to

us just

a tiny

bit of

God's

infinite

power,

when you

experience

those things,

it should

fill you

with a

sense of

awe.

It should

give you

a desire

to worship

the God

who stands

behind

all of

that.

these

things

should

lead us

to

worship

God.

Also,

I recognize

that many

of these

things,

if we

talk about

the power

of God

revealed

in the

storms,

we think

about the

control of

God over

all things,

I recognize

that that

will also

raise

questions

for us.

The book

of Jonah

doesn't

seek to

answer all

of these

questions.

Why does

God allow

a certain

thing to

happen?

These

questions do

come to

mind.

this book

is

emphasized

in the

simple

fact that

God is

in control

and that

he is

all-powerful.

And one

of the

striking

things is

that the

Bible

often

emphasizes

this

for your

comfort.

Think of

what Jesus

says.

Are not

two sparrows

sold for

a penny?

Sparrows,

tiny,

insignificant

birds,

you can buy

them for

nothing.

Two sparrows

sold for

a penny,

yet not

one of

them will

fall to the

ground outside

of your

Father's

care.

Jesus is

saying this

in a

context in

which he's

emphasizing that

the disciples

needn't worry,

that they

needn't panic,

because they

know God.

And he is a

God of

unlimited

power,

whose power

extends even

to the most

minute things.

And notice

how Jesus

tells us to

think of God

there.

care.

Not one

of them

falls to

the ground

outside of

your Father's

care.

And you

remember how

Jesus taught

us to

pray.

He taught

us to

say,

our Father

in heaven.

People have

commented on

those two

words,

Father and

heaven.

The fact

that God

is Father

in the

sense that

he is

willing to

help you,

he is

willing to

receive you.

There are

many things

that I am

willing to

do.

There are

many things

that are

outside of

my control

that I

can't do

even if I

wanted to.

But your

Father is

in heaven.

He is not

limited by

anything.

He is a

God of

unlimited

power.

So this

gives you

confidence.

It doesn't

answer all of

the questions

that you may

have.

It doesn't

necessarily

enable you to

understand why

something has

happened.

But in the

midst of all of

these things,

things which

prey upon

our mental

health,

things which

often affect

our physical

health, the

most difficult

things that you

might go

through, in

the midst of

all of that,

you can know

that there is a

God behind all

of that.

And through

Jesus, you can

know him as

your Father in

heaven.

This is

astonishing.

It should lead

you not only to

worship him, but

also to be able to

take comfort in

him, recognizing

that he loves you

and that he cares

for you.

God.

So in the

first place, the

book of Jonah

reveals to you a

God who is

unlimited in

power, who is

overwhelming in

power.

The second

thing that the

book of Jonah

emphasizes, which

we might not at

first appreciate,

is that this is a

God of mercy.

The book of Jonah

reveals that God is

great in mercy.

I find Jonah a

fascinating book

because of the way

it was written.

And at the

very beginning,

one of the

fascinating things

is that at the

beginning of the

account, there

are two, well, we

could say

ambiguities, two

things that we're

not certain about.

We might make

assumptions about

them, but there

are two things that

aren't actually

clear at the

beginning of the

book.

And both of them

relate to

motivation.

The first of them

relates to God's

motivation.

Why is God

sending Jonah to

Nineveh?

And then the

second one relates

to Jonah's

motivation.

Why does Jonah

run away from

Nineveh?

Some of you may

know, but Tarshish

is believed to be

about where

Gibraltar is.

So if Jonah was

supposed to go

east to Nineveh,

and then he goes

west to

Gibraltar, he's

going as far as

he possibly can in

the opposite

direction.

So we might

wonder, why is

Jonah doing

that?

With regard to

that first

question, what's

motivating God,

there's a degree

of ambiguity.

If you look at

verse 2, go to

the great city of

Nineveh and

preach against it

because its

wickedness has

come up before

me.

Now that's a

possible way of

translating it,

and if it's

translated that

way, what's

motivating God to

send Jonah to

Nineveh?

Well, his

anger.

God's angry at

the Ninevites

because of what

they've done,

isn't he?

It's his wrath

that's motivating

him.

Their wickedness

has come up

before me.

Go and preach

against them.

What if I were

to tell you that

verse 2 could

just as equally

be translated,

go and preach

to them,

because their

calamity has

come up before

me, because the

danger that they

are in has come

up before me.

The word that's

translated here as

wickedness, that's

the same as the

word that's used

in verse 7.

Come, let us

cast lots to

find out who is

responsible for

this calamity.

It wasn't

wickedness that

they were talking

about.

It was the

terrible danger

that they were

afraid of that

they're talking

about.

So verse 2

could be

translated in

either of those

ways.

There's a degree

of ambiguity there.

What is it

that's motivating

God?

What's the

answer?

Well, the

shocking thing

as we get to

the end of the

book is that

the thing that's

motivating God

is his

compassion.

The Lord

said,

you've been

concerned about

this plant,

though you

didn't tend it

or make it

grow.

It sprang up

overnight and

died overnight.

And should I

not have

concern for

the great

city of

Nineveh,

in which

there are

more than

120,000

people who

cannot tell

their right

hand from

their left?

We would

be wrong

if we assumed

at the

beginning that

God was

motivated by

his wrath

and his

anger.

I suppose

wrath and

anger is a

thing.

It is part

of God's

response to

human sin.

But that's

not the

thing that's

being emphasized

here.

And that's

not the

reason that

God is

sending Jonah

to Nineveh.

God tells

us at the

end that

the thing

that's

motivating

him to

send Jonah

to Nineveh

is his

great concern

for the

people of

that city

in spite of

their wickedness.

And this is

tremendous,

isn't it?

If you're here

this morning and

you're not yet a

Christian,

this is the

thing that makes

all the

difference,

isn't it?

God is

great in

power.

That wouldn't

really be

encouraging,

would it?

Unless we

knew that

that God

was for

us.

If we

were alienated

from that

God,

the fact that

he is a

God of

overwhelming

power would

be a

terrifying

thing.

But the

point of

the book

of Jonah,

one of the

points,

is that you

can know

that this

God is

for you.

He's

motivated by

his concern

for you.

In the

New Testament

we read,

we could

pick many

examples,

in 1 John,

in one of

John's letters,

he said,

this is how

we know

what love

is.

Jesus Christ

laid down

his life

for us.

And then

later on,

John goes

on to say,

this is love.

Not that we

loved God,

but that he

loved us

and sent

his sins

son as

an atoning

sacrifice

for our

sins.

God didn't

just send

Jonah,

God sent

his son,

God sent

Jesus,

and he

sent him

to save

you.

That's

really an

astonishing

thought.

If you

have a

sense,

all of us

have a

conscience,

we know

that we've

done things

that are

wrong.

If you

recognize

that and

you have

some

conception

of a

great and

all-powerful

God,

that would

be

terrifying.

But he

has given

proof of

the fact

that he

is a

merciful

and a

loving

God

in that

he has

sent

his

son.

And

Jesus

died

for the

sins

of his

people.

So if

you're not

a Christian

here this

morning,

you can

be.

You can

know this

God.

You can

turn to

Jesus and

trust in

him and

know that

as you

do so,

you experience

the mercy

of God,

the compassion

of God.

Jesus'

resurrection is

the proof

of that.

If you're

here this

morning and

you are a

Christian,

this is

also

tremendously

encouraging.

Because how

often are we

like Jonah?

There's the

Jonah of the

first half of

the book,

who is sort

of openly,

aggressively

hostile toward

God and

doing the

opposite of

what he

knows God

wants him

to do.

There's the

Jonah of

the second

half of

the book,

who is

maybe we

could say

passively

aggressive.

He sort

of does

what he's

supposed to

do,

doesn't he?

But not

really.

Do you

notice his

message to

the Ninevites?

Forty more

days and

Nineveh will

be overthrown.

It might not

be described as

the most

winsome gospel

message ever.

Jonah did

the bare

minimum.

He did

what he

had to

do.

But do

you notice,

lest you

think I'm

being too

hard on

Jonah,

at the

end of

this,

in spite

of the

terseness

of his

message,

in verse

10 of

chapter 3,

when God

saw what

they did

and how

they turned

from their

evil ways,

he relented

and did

not bring

on them

the destruction

that he

had threatened.

The Ninevites,

this is

tremendous

news.

At this

point,

Jonah's

delighted,

yes?

or not.

But to

Jonah,

this seemed

very wrong

and he

became angry.

He prayed

to the

Lord,

isn't this

what I

said,

Lord,

when I

was still

at home?

That is

why I

tried to

forestall,

this is

what I

tried to

forestall

by fleeing

to Tarshish.

God.

I

knew that

you

were a

gracious

and

compassionate

God,

slow to

anger and

abounding

in love,

a God

who relents

from sending

calamity.

Again,

that's

true.

And

Jonah's

angry about

it.

This is,

incidentally,

I mentioned,

we make two

assumptions.

We assume

at the

beginning of

the story

that Jonah

ran away

from the

Ninevites

because he

was scared

of them.

We could

read,

if you

wanted,

you could

read in

Nahum,

in chapter

three,

there's a

description

of what

Nineveh was

like.

It was a

terrifying

place.

I would

run away

from Nineveh.

I would

be terrified.

Jonah

didn't run

away because

he was

scared.

Jonah ran

away because

he hated

them.

And he

was afraid

that if

he went,

he tells

us this,

he was

afraid that

if he

went,

that God

would have

mercy upon

them.

And his

hatred of

them was

such,

justifiably,

you might

argue,

they had

done horrible

things.

But Jonah's

hatred of

them was

such that

he did

not want

them to

experience

God's

mercy.

Maybe we're

not quite as

extreme as

Jonah,

but how

often are we a

little bit like

him?

We know all

of the right

words to

say,

we're correct

in all of

that,

we know what

we ought to

do, and

sometimes we

even sort of

do it,

good, but

our hearts

not really

in it.

And

particularly,

the challenge

here is to

demonstrate

God's mercy,

but I

mention this

at this

point,

because this

is also

encouraging for

you.

If you're

here this

morning and

you're not

a Christian,

the overwhelming

greatness of

God's mercy

is tremendously

good news.

And if you

are a

Christian,

it is also

tremendously

good news,

because so

often we're

like Jonah.

So in the

first place,

this is an

encouragement to

us, this is

the best news.

There is also

a degree of

challenge for

us here.

Do you

notice how

the book of

Jonah ends?

It ends

with a

question,

doesn't it?

Should I

not have

concern for

the great

city of

Nineveh?

God

asked Jonah

a question

and Jonah

doesn't

answer.

At least

we're not

told how

Jonah

answered.

That's not

by accident,

is it?

The author

of the book

wants us

to ask

that question.

Should

God

not have

compassion

for those

who are

still alienated

from him?

And part

of the

point of

the book

of Jonah

is not

merely for

us

ourselves

to know

the compassion,

the mercy,

and the

forgiveness

of God

through Jesus.

Part of

the point

of the

book of

Jonah

is for

us to

demonstrate

that

attitude

toward

other

people.

What did

Jonah do?

Did

Jonah ever

repent?

The Ninevites

repented?

Did Jonah

ever repent?

We don't

know.

It's left

us an

open question

because we

are to

ask that

question.

We

probably

don't

normally

take

things

to the

extreme

that

Jonah

did.

But how

often

are we

maybe

just

unconcerned

about

other

people?

We know

that they're

not

Christians

in theory,

we know

the implications

of that,

but we

really don't

worry about

it very

much.

But then

this book

is challenging

us,

isn't it?

God is

concerned

about these

people,

and so

should we

be.

Practically,

in terms

of what

we do

about

that,

one thing

very simply

that you

can do

is that

you can

pray.

Those of

you who

are Christians

here this

morning,

you will