Introduction to Jonah

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

Jonah, chapter one.

Four small chapters, but some of the most powerful chapters in the Bible.

And again, unbelievable.

The book of Jonah is one of the main books of the Bible, really, that has been criticized more than any other book really has.

This book is the spot where the enemies of the scriptures just really focus their heaviest artillery and their debates against this book called Jonah.

A lot of people, a lot of the theologians have said that Jonah is the weak link.

It's the Achilles' heel of the 66 books of the Bible.

Even a lot of the average Christians who spend little time in the Word of God or the Bible believe, or they really are tempted to believe, or to, you know, question the book of Jonah.

In fact, even the, you know, the average Christian that they believe the book is real, but a lot of them take the book of Jonah and say, well, but you know, I'm not really sure that's real.

I think it's more maybe just a story, a fictitious story.

Because how in the world could somebody really be swallowed by a great fish and live three days and three nights in the belly of that great fish, be vomited up onto the island of onto the land of Nineveh, and really, you know, go and preach a huge, one of the greatest revivals in the Old Testament.

Oh, come on, you really gonna believe that.

Kind of reminds me of the little boy that came home from Sunday school.

And his mother said, as we all do when they come home from Moana in Sunday school, we asked our children, what you learned in Sunday school today.

I used to love to ask my kids what did they learn in Sunday school for two reasons.

One, I really wanted to know.

Two, I wanted to know, make sure the teacher's teaching them something.

Amen.

You're gonna get that here, I promise you.

But uh, so this little boy said, Well, mom, it was about a story for a preacher that God told him to go preach to a place called Nineveh, but he didn't want to go preach.

So, you know, he just ran away, and finally God had to catch him and finally send him back to preach in that country.

She said, now wait a minute, son.

You sure that's the way the story went?

That doesn't sound like that's the whole story of that book.

She said, he said, well, mom, if I told you what she really told me, you wouldn't believe it anyway.

Well, I got one word for that.

Our attitude toward Jonah reveals our attitude toward the whole word of God.

It really does.

If this link gives way, and if it's weak, then the entire chain of the Bible breaks.

Because all scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness.

Can I get an amen?

Every jot, every tittle shall, hey, none shall pass from this word till it's all fulfilled.

Matthew 5.18, 2 Timothy 3.16.

He says, the grass withers, the flower fadeth, but the word of God shall stand forever.

Isaiah 48.

Amen.

So, as we embark on this great adventure.

You know, critics doubt the miracle of the great fish in the book of Jonah, but let me just say this: this miracle is no more incredible than, hey, the parting of the Red Sea.

Can I get an amen?

This miracle, hey, hey, is no greater than the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day that led the whole nation, Israel, in the wilderness.

This miracle is no greater than, hey, Moses speaking to the rock, and the rock bringing a flow of water out of a rock to, hey, provide water for two million people.

Give me a break.

It's no greater than the greatest miracle of all.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In fact, you're going to see that Jesus uses the resurrection of Jonah out of the belly of the great fish as his symbolism of his resurrection in the New Testament.

So, with that said, let me give you a few of the outlandish explanations that have been offered to explain the book of Jonah.

One, Jonah had a dream in the ship while he was asleep during the storm, and this book then was counted as a dream.

In other words, this is really a dream that he wrote out.

Secondly, Jonah is a copy of the myth of Hercules and the sea monster.

I like Hercules.

I don't like the sea monster.

Number three, Jonah's ship to Tarsus was wrecked.

Another ship rescued Jonah, which had a big fish figurehead on the front of the boat.

So again, he saw that.

Then another outlandish explanation was Jonah fell into the sea and found a huge refuge on a dead fish floating in the water and ended up on the seashore of Nineveh.

That's probably the only believable one.

And then the last one, there was no such thing as Jonah being in the fish.

Well, let's look at several arguments to support this historical truth about Jonah.

Number one, look at chapter one and read with me verses one through three.

Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amitai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness is come up before me.

But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshus from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa, and he found a ship going to Tarshus, so he paid the fare thereof and went down into it to go with them unto Tarshus from the presence of the Lord.

So, what we see here, the proof, the historical truth to Jonah, known cities are mentioned here in the book of Nineveh.

I mean in the book of Jonah, Nineveh, Tarshus, and Joppa.

We know that these cities were real and they existed.

Secondly, the Bible says that he was a real prophet who lived during the reign of a real king, Jeroboam II.

In fact, let me give you, I think, one of the strongest verses to prove who Jonah really was.

Second Kings chapter 14, verse 25, and listen to what it says.

2 Kings 14:25

He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amitai, the prophet which was Gath Heper.

In other words, we see that God says that Jonah was a prophet, that Jonah was a real person.

Jonah had a real daddy.

Amati.

So again, strong historical truth about Jonah.

And then there was a third one, and this is the most powerful.

Jesus recognized the existence and the incidents that took place in Jonah's life.

Look at Matthew chapter 12, verses 38 through 41.

Matthew 12:38–41

And it says, then certain of scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, talking to the Master, he said, Master, we would, can we have a sign from thee?

But he answered and he said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign.

In other words, those that are the Gentiles and the lost and the Orthodox Jews, in order for them to believe, they gotta have a sign.

They don't believe by faith.

They gotta, you gotta prove yourself.

And then he said, after a sign, and there shall no sign be given.

And then I love what he says.

But the sign of the prophet Jonah.

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, the word whale there is katos, which means a big fish, a great fish.

Actually, it kind of means a sea monster is another synonym there that they use in the original language.

A great fish, a sea monster's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Ladies and gentlemen, if Jesus made reference of the prophet Jonah being in a great fish's belly, three days and three nights, in direct relation of proving what he was going to do, that he was going to have to spend three days in the earth, and then on that third day, come up out of that earth, hey, and be resurrected.

Lord help us.

If you don't believe the book of Jonah, then you don't believe the words of Jesus.

And if you don't believe the words of Jesus, you're in trouble.

You can't be a Christian.

Amen.

So we see the arguments of this historical truth of Jonah.

The moment a person questions the historical record of the book of Jonah, he questions the credibility of Christ Himself.

Jonah was one of the four Old Testament prophets that Jesus made reference to.

One was who?

Elijah in Matthew 17.

Then Elijah in Luke 4, and then Isaiah in Matthew 15.

You say, but Pastor Danny, what about the great fish?

What about a revival sweeping an entire wicked city?

Could that really happen?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Now, I started to give you all the documentation of several true from the 1800s, it's 1886, I think, and a few in the early 1900s.

There was valid incidence of one, hey, a man, a sailor was literally tossed overboard.

He fell off the ship, and they saw this big fish get the guy.

I mean, he swooped him up.

And later they were able to see the fish.

They killed the fish, the big fish, shot the big fish, cut the fish open, and the guy was still alive.

Hello.

It happened.

So, and by the way, sperm whales, which has been known to swallow unusually large objects, including 15, there's been several instances where these sperm whales, after they've been killed or died, they cut them open and there's 15-foot sharks in their bellies.

Now let me ask something.

If he can swallow a 15-foot shark, he can swallow you.

Hello?

So there's ample evidence documented about that.

And whale sharks have swallowed me, and like I said, and they found them in their stomach.

The word whale, ketos, which means a great sea monster, the Levian that you've read in the Old Testament.

That's the same thing.

It means sea monster.

So by the way, you said, well, I don't know if there's any kind of man.

Let me just put it this way.

If God didn't want to use a sperm whale, God didn't want to use the big fish, if God wanted to create one special fish for one special purpose, he could do that.

Amen.

So God can do anything he wants to anytime he wants to, and he does it quite well.

So, is it possible?

Absolutely.

Now let's talk about Nineveh.

Nineveh was a city of over 600,000 people.

It was a key city.

It was the capital of Assyria.

They had two walls.

The walls were, the outer wall was a hundred feet high.

The inner walls were about 75 feet high, 50 feet thick.

Clay, that's a thick wall.

So thick that two chariots could be lined up on the wall and go around the city.

That's how wide it was.

So they were fortified city.

They were a powerful city.

They were a rich city.

Now, here's what was very interesting about Assyria that it relates so well to America.

They were known as the educational capital of the world at that time.

They were educational people.

And guess what?

America for years had been known as the educational capital of the world.

Problem was they were teaching the wrong type of education, the wrong type of theology.

They were teaching, though, basically what America and our secular universities teach now.

They were teaching humanism.

That man is basically good, and that man can accomplish anything he wants anytime he wants.

And we know that's entirely opposite of what God's Word says.

For man's not entirely good, man's entirely wicked.

Amen.

For all our righteousness is filthy rags.

But we see that here in Jonah chapter 3, verse 4, that, hey, when Jonah brought the prophecy to Nineveh, when he preached, and I love what he says, yet 40 days, he said to Nineveh, he says, You got 40 days, hey, to repent, or you're going to be overthrown by God.

Jonah 3:4

Now, I got the thing about that.

And this revival took place so quickly.

Well, several reasons, I think, after I was doing my research, that took place for.

And I didn't realize this until I was doing more historical research.

Right before Jonah was sent to Nineveh to preach against Nineveh and telling them they got 40 days to repent or God's going to destroy the city.

Guess what had happened?

Two plagues had erupted in Nineveh.

In 1765 and 1759 BC, I meant two plagues had erupted.

That means those dates are before Christ's birth.

And then on June the 15th, 1760, I meant 763 B.C., a total eclipse of the sun took place for over a day.

So plagues and an eclipse had been taken place right before God sends Jonah to preach repentance to the city.

Now let me ask something.

If these two plagues had brought out, and now an eclipse for a whole day took place, what would you think when this prophet shows up?

Because they had believed the plagues and that the eclipse, you know, had come from, quote, gods.

And all of a sudden this prophet says, Hey, Jehovah God says, if you don't repent.

And can you imagine another thing that was really interesting to me?

That one of the gods that they were serving at this time was the God Dagon, which was half man and half fish.

Can you imagine the ones that saw Jonah thrown up from the fish?

They would say, Ah, the God, look.

So all these things, when you really study the text and the setting that took place right before Jonah shows up being vomited up onto the shore out of the big fish's belly, had taken place.

That's very important, folks.

That's good stuff.

So, that also gives us the date of Jonah's ministry from 793 BC to 753 BC.

And I know what you're thinking, you just go backwards.

Well, that was the way the dates do before Christ.

They seem like you're going backwards, but in reality you're going forward, and don't ask me to explain that.

Somebody's smarter than me.

I have to do that.

But what I do know is Jonah prophesied about Israel's boundaries being restored early in the King Jeroboam the second's reign, and we saw that a while ago in 2 Kings.

Boy, this is so good.

1425.

And because of that prophecy, and because of the repentance, and because of the revival that took place in Assyria, Assyria did not attack Israel and take them over for a hundred and thirty years.

In other words, because of the revival, because of the prophecy that uh that Jonah predicted, if they repented, that God would not destroy them.

Hey, uh, here's the exciting thing.

They had revival because they were the worst enemy to Israel.

They hated the Israelites.

They couldn't stand them.

In fact, I was going to give you some of the statistics that I had found about the different kings and rulers there in Assyria and what they would do to Christians and what they would do to the Israelites.

Let me just tell you, it was too gruesome for me to do it.

I'll give you just an example.

They would take them and skin them.

They would take them, cut their heads off, pluck their eyes out, and skin their heads and feed them to the birds, and then stack the skulls up as pyramids.

Hello, you get the picture?

In other words, their goal was to see how they could torture people the worst.

Yeah, yeah.

So that kind of gives you a picture of why in the world would Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh to preach.

He didn't want to go to preach.

He wanted to, hey, he didn't want God.

In fact, we'll see in the in the book here, he says, he even tells God, the reason I don't want to go over there, you're gracious and you're loving and you'll save them.

I don't want them to get saved.

I want you to burn them up.

Take them out.

Now, have we not said the same thing?

Hello?

What's the first thing when we have some, take them out?

Our first thought ought to be, God save them.

And then we think, I don't want God to save them, I want to kill them.

Hello?

Is that not?

Come on, we're all gonna say we're guilty.

We're guilty.

Oh me, that's it.

So, see, we're not the first.

We're not the first.

So the second thing I want us to look at.

We've looked at several arguments that support the historical truth of Jonah.

Now let's look at the second thing, the name Jonah.

What does it mean?

It means dove.

It means dove.

Isn't that beautiful?

How many of you don't you love have you how many of you have ever been to a funeral and seen white doves leap released at a funeral?

Isn't that one of the most beautiful sights?

And how they fly around and come back?

It's unbelievable.

It really is.

Well, a dove represents two things.

One, a dove represents messenger.

Remember?

What was the earliest means before we had telegraph, before we had any kind of lines of communication?

Guess what?

Doves were used to send notes.

Did you know that?

In fact, what hey, what was one of the earliest forms of a dove being used as a messenger in the Bible?

Noah.

Great answer.

Noah used a dove.

And doves were used throughout history as messengers.

I thought to myself, so that tells us that Jonah was a messenger of God.

Then I thought for a minute, guess what?

You and I are messengers of God.

Can I get an amen?

We are ambassadors of God, Ephesians 6 20.

We are to take the message of God to Chelsea and to Westover.

And to, hey, the world.

That's who we are.

That's our purpose.

We're messengers.

Now, listen, if you have gone all week without giving out, hey, a good exhortation about Jesus.

And I was in, I've tried to make all the small groups this week, and David challenged Tuesday night his group to take our life and death tracks.

And I thought I had some in my pocket.

I keep them right in my car because every time I get out, wherever I go, I'm going to leave a life and death track.

But he challenged, he gave each of the small group members two life and death tracks and challenged them between Tuesday night and next Tuesday to give one of those life and death tracks, give both of those out at least.

And just tell, hey, the person that, hey, God loves you.

We love you at CCW.

If you don't have a church, come, hey, worship with us.

But if you do have a church, stay involved.

But here, this is the life and death tract.

For hey, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.

We keep them out there.

You're welcome.

And that's why they're there.

In fact, I would love at Open Door Baptist Church, let me tell you what, we used to have a little open door Baptist Church tract.

Okay?

And then we had thank you cards that where wherever you went to eat, it said thank you, and it opened it up and it'd tell you how much your service has been appreciated.

And I used to tell our members, now, don't you dare put a cheap tip in that thank you card.

Don't use the thank you card if you're not if you're gonna put a 50 cent in it.

Hello.

They'll think Christians are cheap.

Hello, owe me.

But that was before the life and death track because now that is so powerful.

You I give it out everywhere I go.

It's so easy to tell people about Jesus.

That's who we are.

We are ambassadors of Christ.

Yeah, what I'm saying is I wish we'd just send them.

But now don't take them if you're gonna throw them away or leave them in your car.

But if you'll give them out, you say, Well, I'm scared.

You don't have to say a word.

Just leave it on the table with a tip.

But put the life and death track on top of the$5 bill or$3 bill.

No,$3,$3 ones.

At least 15%.

Can I get an amen?

Now, secondly, it means mourner.

And that's why they're used as doves that fly around.

Mourners.

So Jonah was not only a messenger of God, but his message sent mourning to the people.

It kind of reminds me of who else?

Jesus, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.

Wow.

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Beautiful picture.

So let's look at the third thing about Jonah.

The key characters in the book of Jonah.

There's two key characters.

God and Jonah.

God and Jonah.

Now I love this.

The Lord starts out in chapter 1, verse 1.

Now look at it.

Now the word of the Lord came into Jonah, the son of Amitai, saying.

By the way, just for a little sidebar, Amitai, Jonah's father, stands for truth.

That's what his name stands for.

So basically, what he's saying, when you have, you can't have Jonah.

Jonah stands for for a dove, but it also for peace, tranquility, messenger.

So basically, you can't have peace without truth, and you can't have truth without peace.

Can I get an amen?

That's a beautiful combination there.

It really is.

But but we see he has the first word, verse 1.

Jonah chapter 4, verse 11, he has the last word.

Jonah 4:11

Woo! I thought to myself, oh my.

Ladies and gentlemen, God always has the first word, and one day he'll have the last word.

Because every, hey, one day every knee's gonna bow, every tongue's gonna confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

So he has the first word and he has the last word.

Secondly, we see he commands Jonah twice.

Chapter 1, verse 2, chapter 3, verse 2, arise and go.

To Nineveh.

Now, I thought to myself, how many times has he, hey, wouldn't it be great if we could say the first time that God told Jonah to rise and he went, woo! Yes, thank you, God, for using me.

I can't wait to go preach, hey, hey, preach Jesus to those horrible sinners.

You wake up every morning, I can't wait to take this life and death track and tell somebody about Jesus.

No, God has tell him again.

In fact, God had to put a storm in his life.

We're gonna look at all that.

But in chapter 2, he says, Arise, go and preach.

Cry out.

He had to get his attention.

Let me say something right here, folks.

God will get your attention.

If he tells you to do something, you better do it.

If not, he's gonna get your attention.

If not, you may have an opportunity to have a free ride on Free Willie.

Hello.

He commissioned in verse 4 a violent storm on the sea.

Verse 17, he created a great fish to rescue Jonah.

Jonah 2:10

Chapter 2, verse 10, he commended the fish, excuse me, he commended the fish to vomit up Jonah when he got Jonah where he needed to be.

Wow.

He cautions Nineveh with judgment in chapter 3, verse 10.

He cools the prophet with the shade of the plant in chapter 4, verse 6.

The Lord commissions a worm then to destroy the plant in chapter 4, verse 7, and then he sends comfort.

Well, then he sees that the comfort is removed, hey, from Jonah by a scorching wind in chapter 4, verse 8.

What are you saying?

I'm saying that God has the power, he's serving, and that when he calls you, one way or another, he's gonna get his mission accomplished.

Hello?

That's why I knew when God said Pastor Danny, so me and Susan, the Lord didn't say Pastor Danny.

But when he told Susan and me, when he told Susan and me to come to Chelsea and Westover, hey, I knew I better be obedient.

Amen.

I had no idea where Chelsea was.

Then when I got to Chelsea, they said Westover, I didn't even know Westover existed.

Uh-oh, where's the mayor?

It does now, though, right, Mayor?

I found out they had a great mayor, though.

I found that out real quick.

Did I do better?

Did I get out of that hole?

But anyway, hey, really?

I knew.

Hey, ladies and gentlemen, I ran from the call of God for two years.

It was the most miserable years of my life.

On the verge of divorce twice.

Now don't run up and ask Susan, was I going to divorce her twice?

It was my wife that died that's with the Lord.

I keep forgetting a lot of people don't know that.

In fact, I was preaching in a conference and I talked about my second wife.

Pastor went up to Dr.

Jerry Faulwood and said, I'm at hauled that you would have a divorce preacher preaching on the super con.

Dr.

Falwell said, Who are you talking about?

Dr.

Lovett.

He's not divorced.

His wife died.

I love Doc.

Doc said, you might ought to, hey, know what you're talking about before you run your mouth.

I said, Doc, did you really tell him that?

He said, Yeah, I started to hit him.

Father was a big man, 6'3, about 300 pounds.

He'd hit you, you know it.

So, we see that God's in control.

Now, here's the key verse.

Write it down.

Key verse in Jonah.

I want you to read it.

Jonah chapter 3, verse 2.

Jonah 3:2

Here's the key verse in the whole chapter.

The second time he says, Arise, go unto Nineveh, the great city, and preach unto it.

Hey, the preaching that I bid thee.

Now, the word here, the word preach, is the word Kara.

And it means to cry out.

It means to call out loud.

It means to proclaim.

So the key word of the book is preach.

Now, what does he tell us in Mark 16, 15?

Go into all the world and what?

Preach the gospel.

You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in all Jerusalem.

I mean in Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the world.

Again, remember, messengers.

What does a messenger do?

We cry out.

We proclaim the word of God.

And then the key phrase, watch, is arise and go.

Now, that that word there, arise, that phrase or the word arise is coom.

And it means to stand, it means to be fixed.

It means to persist.

It means to establish.

It means to accomplish.

It means to continue.

In other words, God says to each of us Christians, arise, stand.

Hey, go, cry out the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Go to Westover and proclaim, stand the truth.

Thank God for a mayor that stands for the truth.

In fact, he's got some Bible questions I couldn't answer.

That's pretty good.

I don't know where they came from, but they're pretty good.

I'm joking, I'm joking.

But that's what it means.

That's what it means.

Man, that's good.

I will say that's good.

Thank you.

The Lord, right here, the book demonstrates God's sovereignty.

Here it is.

The book demonstrates God's sovereignty in accomplishing God's purpose.

Can I get an amen?

Woo! Now that's worth repeating again.

The book demonstrates God's sovereignty in accomplishing God's purpose.

Do you know God's sovereign over your life?

Do you know God's got a wonderful, beautiful plan for you?

He's not interested in your past, he's interested in your future, and he's got a fantastic future for you.

I want y'all to realize that.

Teenagers, young folk, realize that.

Just let God guide your life.

Somebody asked me, there's no such thing as a storybook.

And then I said, Oh, yes, there is.

But it's got to be done the storybook way.

And the storybook way is the B-I-B-L-E.

That's the book for me.

Amen.

That's it.

Don't mess it up.

Don't let Satan mess you up.

He's got one goal, and that's to keep you if you're a Christian.

He's got one goal to, and that is to what he can't.

Once you get saved, he can't take you to hell.

Can I get an amen?

Well, I don't know about that.

Well, he can't.

Nothing can separate you from the love of God.

Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Nothing.

Now, whether or not you've got the love of God, that's between you and the Lord.

And by the way, the Bible says you can know them by the fruit they they bear.

Don't tell me you love Jesus and live like Satan.

Amen.

Hello, ain't true.

Okay?

But if you're saved, he can't take you to hell.

But I'll tell you his next, you know what he tries to do to every Christian?

He tries to keep us from fulfilling the purpose of God's will in our lives.

You say, well, why would he do that?

Because now he has just now disengaged you as a messenger.

As an ambassador.

It's hard for you to be a messenger when you're not, hey, crying out what God's called you to do.

Amen?

That's good.

So God's called us and reminds us of our missionary responsibility throughout the book.

So let's look at the fourth thing.

There are six significant subjects in the book of John.

Am I following the outline okay?

All right.

Just checking.

Every once in a while I look at some of you teachers, and I'm just preaching away, and you're looking like this.

You're looking at me, you're looking up, you're looking down.

And I know what you're thinking.

Where is he?

Used to, Susan.

Susan used to sit on the front row.

I think she's tired of 35 years of me sitting on her.

But um she'd say, I know.

I'm chasing a rabbit right now.

Let me get I'll get back.

Do what, honey?

Oh, I can still see you.

I can't.

You're beautiful.

Somebody said, ah, she is beautiful.

Six significant subjects in the book of Jonah.

Boy, I look forward every Sunday to us growing together.

Somebody said the other day, I said, I have people talk to me all the time when I'm preaching.

They say, What?

I said, Yeah.

I said, one guy helps me preach all the time.

He's quoting the verses, and I say, Yeah, that's good.

Then every once in a while, the other people just, you know.

Granny said, Well ago, can I say something?

Absolutely.

That's Granny.

What am I gonna say?

No, Granny, you can't say anything.

Now watch.

By the way, thank you already for the two groups that smet twice.

You love the format about the questions from the message that you're able to really dig into in the small groups.

If you're not in a small group, join one.

We want you to be a part of one.

I'm telling you, you will love it.

We're very adamant about having you out of there by 8 o'clock, 6.30.

I'm telling you, I've been to the I've been the three now, and they are awesome.

They really are.

And you get a chance to talk about how this message this morning is speaking to your life and what you learn from it.

First question is what did God speak to you about Sunday morning and Dr.

Love and Pastor Danny's message?

Now, that's why you need to pay attention.

You don't want to get us elf, you want an A.

Six significant subjects in the book of Jonah.

Here we are.

Subject one.

It is the one book in the Old Testament which sets forth the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It it hundreds and hundreds of years before the resurrection foretells the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We see the typology there in the book of Jonah.

Beautiful, beautiful.

Matthew 12, 40, as Jonah was three days and three nights in the well's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Number two.

And by the way, a lot of books do that.

Let me.

Exodus, the book of Exodus in the Old Testament, it shows forth redemption.

Ruth, the romance of redemption.

Esther, the romance of the providence of God, Job, the faith and patience and suffering.

Joshua, spiritual warfare, and then Jonah, the resurrection.

Subject to Jonah teaches that salvation is not by works, but by faith.

Look at Jonah chapter 2, verse 9.

Jonah 2:9

And he says, But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving.

I will pay that that I have vowed.

Salvation is of the Lord.

Church, I want you to say that last phrase with me.

Say it loud.

Salvation is of the Lord.

Again, salvation is of the Lord.

Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God.

Romans 5, 1.

Titus 3, 5.

Not by works of righteousness which we've done, but according to God's mercy, he saved us.

So we see that it shows forth that our relationship with God is through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Wow.

Powerful.

Subject number 3.

God's purpose and plans.

God's grace cannot be stopped.

Can I get an Amen?

God wanted a church in Chelsea and Westover.

Or as the mayor would say, Westover, Chelsea.

Can I get an Amen, Mayor?

Hey, I've heard the mayor can sing.

Wouldn't y'all like to hear him sing?

Could I get a eh?

Wouldn't we like to hear the mayor sing?

All we hear is you speak.

You know, you do you're good at speaking.

We'd like to hear you sing it.

Now I've heard from the right birdie you can sing.

So we don't want you not to use the gift that God's given to you.

Which not the spirit.

But now watch.

This is good.

This really is good.

He says that his purpose, his plans, and his grace will not be denied.

And we see this unbelievably.

Jonah refused to deliver God's message at first.

We see in chapter one.

He says, no, I'm not going to deliver the message.

I'm going to run away from God.

Now let me say something right here.

Jonah knew he could not run away from the presence of God.

Jonah was trying to run away from the purpose of God.

Can I get an amen?

It's important.

I'm going to say that again.

None of us saved can run away, or anybody can run away from the presence of God.

But we all can run away from the will of God for our lives, and many of us have.

Some of us are now.

That's a dangerous place to be.

A very dangerous place to be.

If you're running away from the will of God.

God will not force us to do anything.

Jonah was commanded by God to deliver the message, but Jonah had to choose to obey or disobey.

Isn't that amazing?

When God calls you to do something, you've got one or two choices: obey or not obey.

Amen?

Come on.

You either obey or you don't.

Now, are we not great at making excuses for the don't?

Aren't we great at justifying the don'ts?

I was the best at that.

I used to cocan the principal.

I'd been caught red-handed before I'd walk out of Dr.

Burke's office as my principal in high school.

He'd look me in the eyes and he said, I know you're guilty, but why don't I think you didn't do it?

I was a master at it.

That's why you, a lot of people think you're cunning me.

You can't cun me.

You can't trick me.

I wrote most of the tricks.

Before I got saved, I was terrible.

I was the biggest con man you've ever seen.

Really?

I was I had the gift of lying.

Well, not lying, well, it is lying.

Manipulating.

But now, watch, watch.

This is so important, church.

This is so important.

Hey, after the Lord's chastening, guess what?

He changed his mind about obeying the Lord's command.

Hello.

Now let me ask you, so well, if I spent three days and three nights in a big fish belly, I'd change my mind too.

Well, whatever it takes to change your mind, God's gonna send your way.

Hello.

Oh, that's good.

Hold me.

He knows what it takes.

Some of you are more stubborn than others.

Don't say amen and don't punk your neighbor, don't punch your neighbor.

Especially husbands and wives.

But some of you are more, Jesse, don't you look at Carolyn?

Hey, hey, some of you are more stubborn than others.

Now we

Watch this.

If I read in scripture correctly, interpret it correctly, as a Christian, you and I got one or two choices.

When a major storm in our life comes, by the way, there's three storms.

I'm going to help you.

I'm going to teach you right here.

I had this question asked to me yesterday by someone.

He said, Pastor, I want you to teach me something.

I said, I'll try.

He says, Why do storms come into our life?

I said, I can teach you that with three reasons.

One, one, because you're disobeying God.

This is a great example of when God calls you to do something and you're not doing it, God has sent a storm into your life.

Amen?

Jonah had a big storm, mega storm, come into his life.

Number two, he sends a storm.

Hey, to encourage you, even though it looks like it's not an encouragement, but to encourage you, regardless of the storm, to fulfill what God's called you to do.

Remember when they were in the boat going to the other side, the storm came.

They thought they were going to drown.

He gets up, he tells the wind and the waves to cease, they cease, and he looks at the disciples and says, Why are you so faithless?

Why don't you believe what I tell you?

I told you to get in the boat and go to the other side.

No storm, hey, in all its power can keep you from doing what I tell you to do.

The reason was for the storm was to what?

Create in those disciples a better trust, a more complete trust, to get their faithlessness out of them so that they would be faithful, but instead they didn't.

They failed the test.

Storms come to mature us so that God, in hey, in his providence, in his sub, oh, this is good, in his sovereignty, can use you in a greater way.

Can I get an amen?

Woo! That's good.

And then thirdly, they come to bring you to Jesus if you're lost.

The Phoenician sailors on the boat.

You were gonna see that.

They quit worshiping their God and started worshiping the God of Jonah, the God Jehovah.

Amen?

So that was a sidebar.

Now, let me tell you something about God's sovereignty real quick.

God's sovereignty cannot be used for evil.

Can I say, can I get an amen?

He can't lie, he can't cheat, he can't steal.

Hebrews 6, 18, God can't lie.

Titus 1, 2, God can't lie.

Number two, God's sovereignty can, hey, will never deny or contradict himself.

His sovereignty will never allow him to contradict himself.

I know these, this is some, I just got on the word sovereignty and this is sidebars, but you can find a place to write them if you want to.

But anyway, forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.

Psalms 119, verse 89.

Psalms 119:89

God does not tempt us to do evil.

Can I get an amen?

Listen to what he says in James 1, 13 and 14.

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempt he any man.

But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.

Jonah, through his choice, decided he wasn't going to Nineveh.

Number four, God cannot forgive sin without the penalty being paid for.

Can I get an amen?

There's always a cause and effect with sin.

Can I get an amen?

Always.

He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we're healed.

Who his own self-bears sins and his own body on the tree that we being dead to sin should not live unto righteousness by whose stripes we are healed.

Number five, God cannot force a gift upon anyone.

God can't make you accept his gift.

Let me ask you something.

At Christmas, when somebody gives you a gift, do they come up to you and say, I will, here's a gift.

I had to get you a gift, I got you a gift, now bless God.

Here, take it.

Hello.

No.

Why was the gift given?

Because I loved you.

But God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

That whosoever believeth on him should not perish.

His grace is sufficient.

His grace is a gift, but you have to receive it.

You're just not walking down the road all of a sudden, and God just says, Huh, here's my gift of salvation.

Take it.

Oh, take it.

Okay.

Now walk another way.

No.

No.

You're not a robot.

You have a will.

Can I get an amen?

Jonah had a will to accept and obey God.

His will said, No, at first, I'm not going to obey God.

I'm going to run away from God's purpose in my life.

Didn't work.

Now, I didn't tell you, because see, here's what happens if we run away from the purpose of God.

Here's what happens.

If we don't repent, thank God Jonathan did.

You know what happens?

I think we have an early departure.

I think the Lord takes us on home.

And some of you sitting there saying, Oh.

You know why he takes us on home?

It's for your benefit for him to take you home.

So that you don't mock him.

And so that the good that you've done, you don't lose it.

First Corinthians chapter 11.

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

Some are sick, some die.

I really believe that.

I really do.

What I believe, if we are, hey, if you are fulfilling God's will for your life, hey, you're going to live as long as that purpose is being fulfilled, and then when that purpose is fulfilled, I you know what I pray every morning, God, let me fulfill your purpose in my life, and then let me go home.

I really believe that.

And here's my example scripturally.

You know, you preach, I'm gonna give you a verse.

In Acts 13, David, when he had completed, David was a man after God's own heart, even though he had a lot of problems and he had some mess ups, but bless God, he always repented and came back to where he needed to be so that he could end up fulfilling God's purpose for his life.

And at the end of that life, he was a God even says at the end, he was a man after my own heart, after all the junk.

He said, and David had completed the will, hey, that I had given to him in his generation, and then he died.

Acts 13, 36.

Is that not good?

That should be our prayer.

God let us fulfill your will in our lives, in our generation.

And then let's go home and be with him.

Can I get an amen?

Because I can only imagine on that day what it will be like.

All right.

All right.

One more.

Number six.

He cannot force anyone to love him or accept him.

That's your choice.

That's your choice.

For whoso Revelation 3.20, and I know it's written to Christians, but the principle applies.

It says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If any man opens the door, I will come into him and sit with him, and he with me.

Ladies and gentlemen, he knocks.

You and I have to open the door.

And then subject number four, God will not cast us aside for faithlessness.

Is that not awesome?

That ought to a Pentecostal ought to stand shout right there.

God will not cast us away because of our faithlessness.

Woo! Just because we we decide we're not going to do that, we don't trust God to do that.

Jonah was afraid.

Listen, if if hey, if you knew that they would take you, fillet you, cut your head off, stack it up in a pyramid, would you be eager to go over there and preach?

He was scared.

He was scared.

And hey, he didn't want them to be saved.

He wanted God to take them out.

So he was faithless.

But God didn't give up on Jonah because of his faithlessness.

Can I get an amen?

God didn't has not given up on Danny Lovett because of his faithlessness.

I have been so doubting so many times.

Amen.

Right now, it'd be easy to doubt.

How in the world are we gonna build what God's called us to build out there?

Let me help you.

I don't know, but bless God.

I know he knows, and he's got the money.

I don't know where he's gonna get it, but he can get it, and all I gotta do is trust in him.

Trust in him.

It's coming.

Hey, look what he's done already so quick.

Hello.

I didn't know I'd meet a lot of you.

I'm sitting here looking great, my buddy, my remote side, but I met him on his motorcycle.

He was going in David's house.

He and Gene and they were building the house, and I I, you know, David's house was being built.

I saw this guy on the Harley, you know what, the first thing in the oh, that's a hood.

No, I'm joking.

But anyway, I thought he might be going in there to do something to the house, so I went over there, no, I didn't, but I went over there and introduced myself because I had a Harley and said, let's go ride.

And we started, we rode the next Saturday.

He's been here ever since.

Many of you the same way.

I've on Rosemary met them across the street.

Came home one day, my yard had been cutting.

I thought to myself, how'd that happen?

I don't have a lawnmower.

And I knew Susan said, cutting grass, your job.

My wife's got great character.

If she assigns you a job, she expects you to do it.

Hello?

But that's what I'm talking about.

Faith to build this church.

There were four of us sitting right here, four of us in half this building, and we looked at each other.

We don't know who's coming, who's coming, who's going, who.

All we gotta do is love God and love people, stand on these four biblical truths, and gotta do the rest.

But we gotta do our part.

I can't sit on my brother's half right here every day and just wait for somebody to come and I gotta go tell them about Jesus.

I gotta hit the marketplace.

The work of the church is not done in the church.

We decided we'd start a van.

We didn't have a van.

I said, God'll give us a van.

We don't have any money.

We never have any money.

Everybody says that.

Hey, that's faithless.

Hello.

I'll help you.

That's faithless.

God's got all the money he needs.

Well, we just got to make sure that God wants us to start a van route.

Amen.

When he wants to start a van route, he'll give us a van.

Now we gotta pay for it.

By the way, God's not a genie.

He expects you to put forth effort when he tells you to do something.

And when you put forth effort, he'll meet you halfway.

Well, he'll meet you more than halfway.

But he wants you to do your part.

He doesn't want you to be, oh, I better not say that.

No, I ain't gonna say it.

He doesn't want you to be a moocher.

Amen.

He doesn't want you to be a moocher.

Hello.

I told you I shouldn't have said it.

Some of you are mad at me now.

Number five.

God is good and gracious.

Woo-hoo! Look at John 4, 2.

And he prayed unto the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying when I when I was yet in country, therefore I fled before you unto Tarshus, for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of thy evil.

He knew God would give him another chance.

Woo! The God of second chances.

Can I get an Amen?

Some of you say, God, thank you for a God of 15 chances.

But let me just say this.

Listen to me, please.

Don't keep thinking he's gonna bail you out.

Amen.

He's a gracious God, a loving God, slow to anger.

But did you hear?

Notice it said slow to anger.

But when he gets angry, it's over.

Look at Lamentations 3, 22 and 23.

It's because of his compassion, hey, that we're not consumed because his mercy is new every morning.

Great is thy faithfulness.

Woo-hoo! Can I get an amen?

They are new every morning.

Great is their faithfulness.

And then, subject number six, God is also the God of the Gentiles.

In the Old Testament, God didn't forget the Gentiles.

Can I get an amen?

He didn't forget that.

By the way, every one of you should have raised this roof because unless you're a Jew, you're a Gentile.

So let me try that again.

God is not only the God of the Jews, He's the God of the Gentiles.

Amen.

Thank you, Lord.

Amen.

Woo! There's neither Jew, the Greek, Nabon, the male, the servant, the female.

Hey, they're all one.

They're all one in Christ.

Put it up there.

Galatians 3.28.

I think it's up there.

Put it up there.

I want church to read it.

Read it out loud with me.

Ready?

Read, church.

There's neither Jew.

Read nor Greek.

There's neither male, one female.

One God and all the people.

Oh, come on.

Remember this?

Y'all, I forgot how to do it.

Y'all.

So, oh, excuse me.

Thank you, Deedra.

Go, Joy.

Go, dog.

All right.

Help me.

Hey, which one's you?

I never heard that.

That's good.

That's right.

You better be in there.

But is that not beautiful?

Is that not beautiful?

We're the people.

All of us are the people.

We don't care what nationality you are.

We don't care what color you are.

We don't care what your education is.

We don't care how much money you have.

We love you.

And we're all one.

And we're to help each other.

We're family.

We're family.

It's going to give you a little bit of the overview.

But I'll do that later.

Let's go to the last one.

I want to close.

Real quick.

Some key lessons in the book of John.

Number one, I'm going to let you fill in the blanks.

God's call is man's opportunity.

Well, somebody say that's good.

God's call is man's opportunity.

Remember Isaiah?

Hear my Lord send me.

When God calls you, you got a great opportunity, folks.

You got an opportunity to be a messenger for God.

Number two, man's surrender is God's opportunity.

Woo.

Now I know what you're thinking.

God doesn't need me.

Absolutely, you're right.

But guess what?

God's chosen to complete his mission through us.

God wants to use us.

We are, the Bible says, co-laborers.

Can I get an amen?

Co-laborers together.

So when God, and I love this, man's surrender is God's opportunity.

That is Romans 12, 1 and 2.

I beseech you, therefore, brother, by the mercies of God, present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is a good, acceptable, perfect will of God.

What an opportunity for God to use you.

Number three, there is danger in running from God.

Hebrews 12, 6.

Whom the Lord loves, you know it.

He chasteneth.

In fact, read it with me, verse 6.

For whom the Lord loves and scourges every son whom he receives.

He says in Revelation 3.19, for as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.

Be zealous.

Notice what he says.

That word zealous means be anxious.

Hey, and in a hurry to go back to where you got off the wrong road.

Be zealous.

Therefore, and repent.

Number four, there's to be no detour in the path of Christian service.

No detour.

You to be faithful.

1 Corinthians 15, 58.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable.

Unmovable.

Always, watch, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor's not in vain.

Number five, there is no place for religious bigotry and natural pride.

Can I get a amen?

1 John 3, 20 and 21 says, How can you say you love God and you hate your brother?

Can't do it?

Pride.

Pride will keep us from winning souls.

Pride almost kept Jonah from bringing.

Can you imagine revival to Nineveh?

Had he not brought revival to Nineveh?

Assyria would have taken over Israel, killed Israelite.

How many thousands?

We don't know.

But because he repented and was obedient, it saved Assyria from taking Israel captive for 130 years.

It does make a difference for us to repent and be in God's will.

Can I get an Amen?

It protects the ones that we love the most.

Number six, if we do not judge ourselves, God will chasten us.

The Bible says, search your heart, know your thoughts.

If there be any wicked way, Lord lead me in the way of everlasting.

Remember in the Lord's Supper, judge.

Judge yourself that you be not judged.

1 Corinthians 11 31.

Number seven, when we backslide or run from God, we need to go back where we got off track or where we disobeyed the Lord.

Now that's important.

Look at this, Revelations.

Well, no, that's a good one.

Jeremiah 3.22.

God says, return ye backslidden children, and I will heal your backsliding.

Amen?

Now, how do we do that?

Revelations chapter 2, 4 and 5.

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

Look at what it says.

Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee because thou hast left thy first love.

You know, hey, hey, you know what, let me tell you.

You know when the fire of God was in your heart.

You know when the joy of God's in your heart.

You know when you're being obedient to God and you having your quiet time, you're being faithful to church and all the other things that prayer time and witnessing and sharing, just living for God wholeheartedly.

You know there's a joy, there's a fire, there's an excitement in your life because God's moving in your life.

But when He's not, you know it too.

Amen.

Remember, therefore, from whence what thou art fallen.

You know when you quit the quiet time.

You know when you quit being faithful to church.

You know when you quit witnessing.

You know, you know.

And do the first works, or else I will come unto you quickly.

Uh-oh.

Watch.

And will remove the candlestick out of the place except thou repent.

In other words, I'll take my presence and power from you.

There is nothing more miserable for a Christian than to not have the power of God on his life.

I didn't say you always have his presence, but you may not have his power.

Excellent example.

Excellent example.

Sam.

You listening?

That's sobering preacher.

Number eight, the direction God sends is best.

And I wrote this to myself.

The safest place is the will of God.

The safest place for me and you is to be in the will of God.

Can I get an Amen church?

Can I get an Amen church?

That's the safest place.

Now, there was another one that I I thought of after I'd already done my outline.

You may want to write it in.

I'm through.

Last one.

You and I I I came to this conclusion and it was very convicting to me.

Oh.

Because any of you ever pout?

Only three of us?

Okay.

Man, I'd fix say, boy, I'm I'm preaching online.

Pout.

You know, what's the definition of pout?

When you don't get your way, you get upset.

Hello?

That's that's my definition, but Webster's pretty close.

When you don't get your way, you get upset.

That's pouting.

Take your ball and go home.

Yeah.

I'm not playing with you anymore.

How many when you used to play football?

Oh, we used to have, man, they didn't get to play quarterback.

Well, I'm not playing.

I'm not going back to that church.

They made me mad.

If you go to any church and stay long enough, they'll make you mad.

Doesn't matter.

Especially if the preacher's preaching the word, you're going to get mad.

Because he's going to hit you eventually if he's preaching the book.

And by the way, let me help the preachers, me included.

We don't do that.

I don't think about anybody that, oh, I can't wait to preach this message.

This is going to get evil.

I don't think that way.

You know what I do think?

Whoo! This is getting me.

And I know if it's gonna get me, I'm not gonna be alone.

Some of you are gonna join me.

I have people all the time, you got me, preacher, today.

No, I got us.

Yeah, yeah.

Greg did.

And that we're real close friends.

I wouldn't do that to him on purpose.

We all, hey.

See that?

See those toes?

I get them every Sunday.

Stomped.

My granddaddy said if the preacher doesn't stomp on shoes, on your toes, he didn't do his job.

Now, here's another saying.

If the shoe fits, wear it.

Don't go put them in the clothes and say, I don't want those shoes anymore.

Amen.

So here's the last one.

The pouting servant of the Lord is a pitiful sight.

The praising servant of the Lord is a proper sight.

Is that not good?

I'm gonna say it again.

The pouting servant of the Lord is a pitiful sight.

The praising servant of the Lord is the proper sight.

So I came to one conclusion.

We're either pouting servants or praising servants.

Think about that.

Is that not true?

Jonah was pouting, then he is praising, then he's pouting again.

Really?

You're gonna love Jonah because it's just like you.

Hello.

We're gonna love him because it's real in our own lives.

Don't you miss a message?

That's the introduction.

Can you now we're gonna take you to start going verse by verse next week?

Let's bow our heads in prayer.

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

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We hope you have a wonderful day and again, God bless you.