Old Sins Die Hard

Hey, guess what the sermon is on today?

Well, it's easy.

It's where your Bible automatically opens up.

I'm going to study the book of Jonah again today.

If you would like a sermon outline didn't get one yet just raise your hand, our ushers, we're happy to give you one.

Today we're going to be focused on the last chapter of Jonah and it's one of the most surprising endings in the whole Bible.

You could title it the incredible collapse of Jonah.

The reason is because it's so incredible is because after Jonah finished preaching to Nineveh and the whole city repented, jonah went out and pouting, was really mad at God.

So we're going to spend this is so important for us this chapter.

I think Jonah gave it to us so we could learn a few things about his mistakes.

We're going to spend the next three sermons talking about why Jonah collapsed in anger and depression as a result of his role to bring spiritual revival to Nineveh.

I'm going to back up and read into chapter 4, a little bit Back up to chapter 3.

I'm going to break into verse 4 of chapter 3 and then read into chapter 4.

Just kind of get the context here.

Jonah, chapter 3, verse 4, then Jonah began to go through the city one day's walk.

Jonah 3:4

And he cried out and said yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.

Then the people of Nineveh believed in God and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.

And when the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes.

He issued a proclamation and it said in Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, let not man beast herd flock taste a thing, do not let them eat or drink water.

But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth.

And let men call on God earnestly, yahweh earnestly, that each may turn from his wicked way, from the violence which is in his hands.

Who knows?

Yahweh may turn and relent and withdraw his burning anger so that we will not perish.

Well, when Yahweh saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then Yahweh relented concerning the calamity which he had declared he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.

But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.

He prayed to the Lord and said please, lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country.

Therefore, in order to forestall this, I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, god, slow to anger and abundant and loving kindness, one who relents concerning calamity.

Now, therefore, o Lord Yahweh, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.

The Lord said Do you have a good reason to be angry?

Little review Nineveh was the capital of the ancient country of Assyria.

Right there there's the Tigris River, euphrates, river, babylon, so on.

Israel's down here In Jonah's day.

Nineveh and Assyria were the world's power.

Now, to understand this may seem odd, but to understand Jonah chapter 4, we must understand God's love and His justice.

Jonah 4 · chapter mention

This is where a lot of us get tripped up with the God of the Bible.

The whole chapter is about God's love.

Today, we're going to see two main things.

Like I said, I'm going to have to spend three sermons on this, because it's way too much to look at in one shot.

Two things today misunderstanding God's love and receiving God's patient love.

First of all, like Jonah, we are in danger of not understanding God's love.

Two sides of the same coin His love, his justice.

They're together.

The focus of God's love is the point of today, but just don't forget he's a God of love, but also a God of justice, and they're working together because it's who he is.

Like Jonah, we're in danger of not understanding God's love, and from that, we're going to collapse, just like Jonah.

Look at Jonah's response to this amazing spiritual victory for Yahweh in Nineveh these pagan heathen, murderous, thieving people who've crushed many cities in Israel already.

Ruthless Jonah said please, isn't this what I said.

You're like this.

I fled because of this.

Why?

Because I knew you.

You are God of grace and compassion.

These people don't deserve that.

I'm angry, in fact.

Just kill me now.

I don't want to live with this.

What is Jonah saying?

He's saying to God I don't understand how your love operates.

I don't get it.

What you did does not make sense.

Now, again, I prodded this too much.

We could flip the coin over and say the same thing about God's justice.

I don't get it.

How could you kill all those people?

Today, though, the focus is on His love.

That's where Jonah got tripped up.

Oh, he's all about God of justice.

Kill them all.

New Knenava.

He's got that down.

He's getting tripped up with.

I don't understand your love.

How can you do this to people who don't deserve it.

The incredible collapse, dramatic collapse of Jonah was due to a misunderstanding of God's love.

What about us?

I would maintain and I know this in my own heart of hearts the little collapses and the big collapses we go through have the same roots that Jonah had.

That's why this is here.

Take a look at it Now.

To avoid these spiritual collapses, we need to learn what God's love is like and what it does.

Jonah is struggling.

This is really a struggle for him how freely God throws his love around to people who don't deserve it.

Jonah would never do that.

He would nuke them.

They deserve that.

So the first lesson we're going to see here is that God's love is patient.

He waited 40 days for Knenava.

He could have just nuked them without saying a word and totally justified he didn't.

We really need to know how patient God's love is towards us, towards everyone.

Jonah does not understand the patience of God's love, but Jonah's life is depending on God's patient love.

Jonah, you see, has just fallen back into the sin that God has spent the whole book trying to deliver him from his racism, his lack of mercy toward outsiders.

Jonah admits it.

God, I'm mad at you for sparing the Nenovites and the only thing keeping Jonah from being blasted into oblivion at this point is the patience of God.

What do we learn from Jonah about how God's love is patient?

It's actually a key lesson in the book of Jonah, and one thing I just want to bring it down.

We learn, beginning with this gifted, gifted Old Testament prophets, as well as fruitful gifted Christians prominent, respected Christians like this prominent, respected prophet, can fall back into old patterns of sin and self-deception, so that only God's love, patient love, keeps us alive.

God is lovingly patient toward us and is purposely trying to bring us back, just as he is with Jonah.

So we need to listen to how God takes Jonah through this to get him to confront his sin, his old sins, and bring him back.

God teaches us about his patient love here, because Jonah is a perfect example of Christians who should know better but who fall back into pet sins that are need of God's patient love.

You see, in chapter 1, after Jonah was thrown into the sea and almost drowned.

In Jonah chapter 2, jonah reflects on what happened and he says basically, you know what?

Jonah 2 · chapter mention

I almost denied God and destroyed everything.

His sin of racism caused him to hate the Ninevites and not go out there.

But he repented in the belly of the fish, admitted he was foolish, self-righteous and he repented.

Whew, what a narrow escape.

Oh, I repent, lord, I'll never do that again.

But here we are back again, struggling with the same sins.

What can we learn from this?

Many Christians, as well as non-Christians misunderstand God's love.

A lot of Christians believe well, now that I have the life of God in me, we can't really fall very far In.

A lot of non-Christians think Christians should act a lot better than they do.

But Christians aren't any better than anybody else.

They just come to realize.

We've come to realize that we're sinners in need of a Savior by the grace of God.

Becoming a Christian believing in Jesus to save you is described in the New Testament by Peter as a seed, a spiritual seed, god's spiritual seeds, planted in us, planted in our hearts.

Listen to 1 Peter 1, 23.

It says you have been born again, not of seed, which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring Word of God.

So in this analogy, this metaphor you see, after you plant a seed, that doesn't mean everything's changed yet.

It's just begun.

You are now technically a new plant, but not fully realized.

You are now legally a new Christian, but not completely changed yet.

That seed is going to grow At the moment.

You believe in Jesus and become a Christian.

Sin has no legal power over you to condemn you.

Jesus took that away.

You are forgiven because Christ satisfied your debt to God on the cross.

Sin has no legal power over us to condemn us.

Hear me, but sin still has actual power in our lives when we choose to disobey God.

It has no legal power.

It has actual power though.

Old patterns, old sinful patterns, still are in us.

It's called the old nature, old patterns of fear, anxiety, greed, lust, envy, denial.

I want me to list them all.

They're all there, all the old sins, present and dangerous, but they're under a death sentence.

In one day they'll be removed completely.

Our old sinful patterns, really now for the believer, are like an animal that's been mortally wounded.

Most animals aren't dangerous until you mortally wound it.

Then they get nasty, they start fighting.

They don't want to die, neither do your sins.

It's the same with sinful habits that we are trying to put to death by the Holy Spirit of God in us, which God has given us the resources to do in His Spirit.

That's what Paul says in Romans 8.

Our sin nature, though, tries to resurrect our sinful tendencies, whatever they may be In.

The reason we don't really know how patient God is is because we don't realize how persistent our sin is, over and over and over and over and over.

Pet sins, anger, bitterness, refusal to forgive, gossip I mean, we all have pet sins Lust, pride.

We refuse to admit we're wrong, we blame.

How kinds of stuff?

Sin is so deceitful and subtle.

The writer of the Hebrews said this you know what, guys?

Hebrews 3, encourage one another day after day, when it's called today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

It's a liar, it's a con, it's a scam.

You see Jonah?

He doesn't see it.

He's deceived.

He's deceived about his sin and he rationalized it.

No one here just think about this.

No one ever admits their sin when their sin has just duped them, got ya, it's not your fault.

And when we choose to disobey God, you say we won't say right now, I'm rebelling against my creator, sustainer and savior.

No, we're not going to say that Farthest thing from our mind.

To say that Jonah was able Listen carefully.

Jonah was able to rationalize his sin of racism.

He hated them.

They deserved God's judgment.

The nukem, because he Lord, I'm just being patriotic to my nation, israel.

Oh, okay, you know, that's reasonable.

Yeah, no, he was able to rationalize it.

The question is, from this chapter, what subtle sins, what pet sins are we rationalizing and excusing?

Think about it.

Our propensity to sin is still there under sentence of death, but it somehow is going to try to find a way to express itself.

You need to know yourself.

You need to know what your pet sins are, what your default is.

You need to know that.

Why Did you see how blind Jonah is?

In Genesis, chapter 4, god comes to Cain.

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

Cain is struggling Inside, he's churning, he's angry, he's depressed that his brother Abel's sacrifice was more favored than his.

So, like a good counselor, god comes to Cain and starts talking to him and says hey, cain, why are you so angry?

Why are you so sad?

Let me tell you something.

Sin is crouching at the door.

It's desires for you, but you must master it.

In other words, this is using a metaphor.

Your sin is like a hungry lion crouching at the door, ready to spring.

It wants to devour you.

Don't let it.

But he let it, killed Abel.

What is God trying to say to Cain through that metaphor.

Listen carefully, cain.

You think your problem is your brother Abel.

That's the problem.

So you're going to get rid of it.

Cain, don't you see the sin in you?

That's the problem.

Your jealousy, your envy, your pride, your self-centeredness.

It's crouching at the door.

See it for what it is.

Call it sin and tell it to get out.

See it for what it is.

The problem is not Abel, the problem is in here.

The problem is not how people are treating you.

The problem is in here.

Don't blame your problems on others.

If you don't admit to call sin sin, it's going to eat you alive.

Well, the same lesson for Jonah and for us.

Identify our sin for what it is.

God has helped me greatly with this because we're so good at excusing, at rationalizing.

It's not my fault.

We've got good reasons.

Identify it is the first step of overcoming it by the Spirit.

Identify it for what it is Lust, critical spirit, bitterness, rage, self-pity, gossip, pride.

Look at it.

Let God help you do that.

What is it?

Don't say I'm not rebellious, I'm just sad.

Don't say I'm not denying the wisdom and power of God, I'm just worried.

Don't say I'm not being immoral, I'm just lonely.

Don't say I'm not enraged and lost my temper, I'm just speaking the truth, Need to learn to confess our sin to God and say I'm a sinner.

This is the sin.

I know it Deep down.

Don't blame me.

We don't understand the patient love of God because we don't admit how powerful our pet sins are.

They're still active and, by the way, like Jonah's racism, we all have our little pet sins, all of us, me too.

I've come to identify them when they show up.

Oh boy, there it is.

That is sin.

We're all in danger of rationalizing and minimizing what we don't want to admit is sin.

So how can we avoid falling back into old pens of sin and self deception?

Three things.

I started with this examine your heart.

Examining your heart.

I sometimes have to ask God to examine my heart for me because sin is so subtle, deceptive.

So in 139, david says search me, oh God, know my heart, prime me, know my thoughts, see if there's any wicked way in me, and then leave me in the way everlasting.

God has answered that prayer many times for me, the time I heard him say to me you know what your problem is, lenin.

You're proud you got me.

Now here's another thing that's helped me with this examine your heart business.

It's come because I've looked at Cain's interchange, I've looked at Jonah's interchange and I can't escape this, this little helpful hint God is trying to help us, he's trying to help them.

He's trying to help them.

And look at what God said.

Look at he's trying to help them to really see their sin in terms of motives.

Why do you want to do that?

What's the reason that you're so angry and upset?

No, what's the real reason?

It's not able.

It's not that, it's not another prayer.

What's in you?

What's the reason?

You're justifying it?

God said to Cain why, why are you angry?

Why are you sad, as said of yourself?

God also asked Jonah 4-4,.

Do you have a good reason to be angry?

Answering that question for yourself will sometimes reveal the sin.

Pinpoint the sin.

Now it's interesting when God asked that of Jonah, jonah didn't answer.

He just walked away.

So the first thing examine your heart.

Ask God to examine your heart.

Pinpoint the sin behind whatever it is you're doing, whatever the collapse or outburst is that's coming out of your flesh.

The second thing is, once you've identified that sin, also identify and smash the idol behind it.

Identifying the reason we choose to sin will expose that idol in our hearts?

Oh, my goodness, it sure will.

Idols, you see, are what we think we have to have to be happy and to give us meaning and purpose in our life, other than the true God.

And when we can't have them, that's when we're going to sin.

I can't have that.

Well, by golly outburst collapse.

I'm so depressed.

What is that that you really want?

What is it Exposing?

The motive will reveal it.

What don't you have that you're ready to sin to get it?

You want that other person to suffer for the hurt they've caused you.

That's why it's not my fault, I'm bitter.

So unless I get my vengeance, I'm going to stay mad and stay mad.

Good, I'll never talk to that person.

I'm going to avoid that person.

When we can't have it, we're going to sin.

That's where it gets us.

The real reason behind our sin.

That's the idol.

We just put another God before God.

Jonah, in his self-righteous racism, wanted Nineveh to pay for their sins.

When he didn't get it, he became furious, lashed out at God for being so loving.

So why are we really angry?

Because we've lost control of something.

It's because we didn't get what we wanted.

Is the thing I didn't get my idol.

Is that what I really want, regardless of what God has said to me about anything else?

Why are we really lustful?

It's because we really need the pleasure of that feeling.

We have to have it to feel good about ourselves, to be happy.

Is pleasure, comfort or power my real idol?

I've got to have that.

Why do we really lie?

Think about these.

Why.

What's the reason?

Behind it is the idol.

Is it because we don't want to be embarrassed?

We'll give them a falsity, because if I told the truth it would make me look mad.

So what I've got to have is my respect.

We'll lie.

There's the sin.

What's the idol?

Pride I can't admit my weakness, that I'm a sinner.

Pride, huge idol.

We'll protect that baby to the ends of the earth.

We don't want to be looked at as weak, powerless or not in control or somehow diminished.

So a lie conveniently helps us to boost ourselves.

What a deception.

Don't be conned If you ask the why question of your sin.

Once you've identified the sin, there's usually an idol hiding behind it.

Get it, Identify it, confess it, smash it.

We're going to see how Jonah does it, not today, but, like I said, I got to do three messages on this to help.

We're going to see God walk Jonah through, conquering his old sins by the power of God and the mercy and love of God.

So what he wants to do with us.

Jonah admits that he's angry and that God let them off because he loved them.

He openly admits it, confesses it.

Confession just means to unmask the sin for what it is to be accountable to somebody, and this is what gets me.

A lot of people I've heard over the years say Jonah is just a myth, it's just a story.

It's not real, it's just a fable.

Show me a myth that makes the hero look as stupid as Jonah.

It doesn't make sense.

He's really collapsed here.

That doesn't make sense.

Okay, so examine your heart.

See what's really going on there.

Try to identify the sin.

Then look at the motive.

What is it that I really want?

To identify?

The idol.

Third, you want to avoid falling back into old patterns of sin self-deception.

Make sure that we are using the spiritual resources God has given us to walk with him, to experience his love, to be strong in his grace and firm in our faith.

Say what is that If you're not praying, if you're not reading and studying his word, if you're not worshiping and fellowshiping with other Christians.

If you're not confessing and repenting of your sin, you will easily fall back into old sin patterns and God's grace and patient love will seem absolutely absurd and absent.

I think we all agree old sins die hard, Like Jonah.

Some of our biggest collapses may be due to the fact that we don't really understand how God's love or His justice works.

You see, sometimes God will do or allow things in our lives that we don't like.

We don't like that, we don't want that.

We don't know why.

Be careful when that happens.

That's what's happening to Jonah.

When that happens, need to trust what God has revealed to us about himself, trust his character and his promise.

Listen to me carefully.

The Scriptures make it very clear.

Nothing happens in our lives that is any way able to thwart the primary motivation.

Nothing happens in his world, his love Never, even the things we don't understand.

The primary motivation is love, but we struggle with that.

We have a lot of time believing that because our circumstances are telling us something different.

Don't fall for the scam, because what happens is the idol will show up.

Boy, I don't get this guy, I don't agree with it.

And if I don't get this, this is what I really want, that I'm going to retreat into my sins, which give me comfort.

In fact, we'll never understand why God happened to His Son Jesus.

Apart from His love for Jesus and for us, we won't get it.

Jesus understood this.

Jesus said in John 3, 35, the Father loves the Son.

He has given all things into His hands and he knew what was going to happen, because he said to Nicodemus in John 3, 16, 18, jesus slips for God, so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, by the way, the Son whom he loved, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God didn't send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

He who believes in Him is not judged.

He who does not believe has been judged already.

He's not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

So to really understand God's love, I think Jesus is saying to us we will never understand it unless we experience for ourselves first hand the ultimate expression of God's love for us in Jesus.

Have you had that?

You experience it in your heart of hearts?

Jesus said, john 15, greater love has nobody than this that when you lay down His life for His friends.

Jesus said I'm laying down my life for you.

There's no greater love.

How do we experience God's love in Jesus?

Well, it starts by opening your heart and believing in Him, receiving Him through His Spirit as your Savior.

He's promised he will come in.

His Spirit bears witness, with our spirit, that all of a sudden we become a child of God.

Romans 8, when we have Him.

Paul says in Romans 8, if anyone does not have the Son, anyone does not have Jesus, he does not belong to Him.

Do you have the Son?

Do you have Jesus?

Well, welcome into your heart.

He's holding nothing against you judging you.

He's paid it all.

How do you do that?

Well, many of us just ask Him.

I believe you, jesus, that you died for me, and if I believe in you you'll give me eternal life.

I come to you, I welcome you into my life.

Just that simple.

And the way you know is he says His Spirit will testify in you, in your spirit, that you are now a child of God.

You'll know it.

Something just changed, I got it.

Jesus said in John 6.37, all that the Father gives me will come to me, and you know what, the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out.

Let's pray.

Father, thank you today for your word, which once again helps us to understand things that are too deep, too marvelous, for us to understand.

I thank you that your love surpasses our understanding.

It's so patient, as we see with Jonah, as we've experienced in our lives.

We should have been just made ashes a long time ago, but you're patient towards us.

That's the word.

Long suffering towards us, just as Jonah declared that you were towards us, long suffering towards us.

Well, lord, we confess that sometimes we find it difficult to understand your love, when our circumstances don't seem to line up with how we think you, your love, should be.

We confess that.

Would you help us to know that, even though your love transcends our understanding, your steadfast love toward us never ceases.

It's always present and is the reason for what you do, in any way, anything?

We need you to help us understand that, to know that and to worship you because of that.

I pray in Jesus' name, amen.