Recovery And Renewal

Let's see who do I preach to, you or you?

Okay, we're going to continue our study in the Old Testament book of Jonah today.

If you brought your Bible, you may want to turn to Jonah in the Old Testament.

And if you like a sermon outline, then get one.

Our ushers be happy to help you.

Or if you'd like to borrow a Bible, they have those too.

I've asked a few of my puppet friends to come and recap the story of Jonah today and I guess they're snowed in, so we'll check with them next week.

But in our study of Jonah we've been following Jonah's relationship to God.

So far we've seen the prodigal prophet in chapter 1.

Then we saw the praying prophet in chapter 2.

And today in chapter 3, we're going to begin looking at the preaching prophet, for God gives Jonah a second chance.

I'm going to pick up in Jonah 2, verse 10, and read a little bit more Jonah 2, verse 10,.

Jonah 2:10 Jonah 2:10

Then the Lord commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah up onto dry land.

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah's second time, saying Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim to it the proclamation which I'm going to tell you.

So Jonah rose, went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.

Now, nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days walk.

And Jonah began to go through the city one day's walk and he cried out and said Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.

A children's Sunday school class was just finishing the study of Jonah in their class and the teacher asked one little boy so what did you learn about Jonah and the whale?

And he thought for a minute and he said whales make people sick.

Actually he was not too far from the truth because we see in the book of Jonah a lot of word plays with the Hebrew language and some of the words actually sound like they mean.

And this is one of them In verse 10 when it says that the fish vomited Jonah up onto the dry land, the Hebrew word vahe, which sounds like it means vomit.

There's a lot of those words as you go through Jonah.

I love them because they're so expressive and it's a Hebrew language for you, very earthy and just down to earth.

So whale vomits Jonah out onto dry land, and the main theme of the book of Jonah really is God's amazing grace.

And at the end of chapter two we saw that Jonah repented of his sin and rededicated his life to the Lord.

Now, at the beginning of chapter three, we're going to look at another example of God's grace.

We see God's willingness to give Jonah a second chance, a second chance to serve him after his colossal failure.

So today we're going to learn from Jonah how we can recover from our sin failures and be renewed in our fellowship with God.

God takes Jonah through three things, three things that are essential if he or any one of us is going to recover our fellowship and renew our relationship with God.

Those three things are actually three aspects of our life that we need to repent, repent, turn around.

And those three things Jonah needs to turn around begins with his heart, his purpose and mission.

Second, and his relationship to God.

Third, we're going to look at those, one at a time, things that have to turn around for things to be restored with the Lord In order to recover from the failure of our sin.

The first thing that needs to be restored is our heart for God's Word.

That is the place in chapter one where Jonah's spiritual life went south.

Listen, jonah, one, one to three.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amitya, saying Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.

But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Jonah heard God's Word, but he sinned when he ignored it and didn't obey it, had no intention of obeying it.

Jonah's lack of obedience to the Word of God was just a reflection of the condition of his heart.

When we hear God's Word and harden our heart, we set in motion a catastrophic failure in our relationship and fellowship with God.

Catastrophic.

That's where it begins.

First thing needs to be turned around our heart for God's Word.

This is one of the most important cautions the Scripture tells us we must guard in our relationship with God.

We are warned over and over again in both the Old and New Testament not to harden our hearts when God speaks to us in His Word.

Old Psalm 95, 7 and 8, tells the people today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as at Maraba and in the day of Masa and the wilderness.

That command is repeated over and over again.

We have to have a heart that listens and responds with a good heart to God's Word.

That's the first thing.

Jonah needed to turn around and guess what God's going to speak again to see if we've got it right.

So there are two important things I want to say about how God speaks to us in His Word, so we can kind of get the idea.

First, in the New Testament there are actually two different words used for the Word of God that are connected to the two different ways we hear and respond to God's Word.

The most common word, a Greek word in the New Testament used for the Word of God is the Greek word lagos Quite common, and when you read or hear the lagos, the entire Scripture, really you are hearing some part of God's revelation from the Scripture given to every single person that God wants us to know and to heed.

For instance, jesus said to all the disciples he was speaking to here's an example of the Lagos John 15 and 20,.

Remember the word Lagos that I said to you a slave is not greater than his master.

If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

If they kept my word, lagos, they'll keep yours also.

The less frequent word Greek word for God's word in the New Testament is Greek word Rima.

The word Rima refers to a fitting, timely word from God's word to you personally, not anybody else at that moment in time.

For example, jesus said to Peter the Lord turned and looked at Peter and Peter remembered the word Rima of the Lord.

He had told him Not everybody, him, that's a Rima.

Before I roost your clothes today, you will deny me three times.

How do you know if and when you receive a personal, timely word from God, from his word, a Rima?

It's a great question.

I have to admit, confess it doesn't often happen, happen that often, but when it does, here's what I'd say you will know the Holy Spirit will reveal that to you.

I've shared this example before.

I'm going to share it again, example in my own personal life of God giving me a Rima that was filled with power in his life to help me.

The story is when I was a young man I struggled as a Christian, breaking off a relationship with a person I knew was not good, but the emotional bond I had with them was so strong I just felt I can't do this Because my emotional heart was so bound up with this.

And then I was reading.

I was just reading God's word, thinking it's just the Lagos.

Again, I'm reading, I'm reading program, and then all of a sudden, 1 John 3, god says this in 19 and 20,.

We will know by this that we are of the truth and will assure our heart before him and whatever our heart condemns us for, god is greater than our heart.

I just got hit with a Rima, god's word, timely word, fitting for me as I was struggling with this, and you know what?

That's all I needed to hear, and that relationship was over Freedom.

I was amazed that was God's Rima.

To me, he's greater than my heart.

When you know that God has spoken his word just for you, your response is very important.

It's a reflection of your heart.

The Scripture describes a number of ways our heart responds to the Word of God when we hear it.

For instance, in the parable of the Soils, jesus tells.

He describes four different ways, four different soils depicting how our heart responds to God's Word when we hear it.

But I think there are basically two extremes that I want to focus on in responding to God's Word.

An example of the first extreme we see after Peter preaches in Acts, chapter 2, 36 and 37.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

It says therefore, peter says let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him Jesus, both the Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

Now, when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter what shall we do?

First extreme what shall we do?

Who's God wants us to do?

In contrast to that, let's look at the other extreme, after Peter preaches in Acts, chapter 5, 30 and 33.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

He says the God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.

God exalted him to his right hand as prince and savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.

We are witnesses of these things.

So is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.

When they heard this, they were cut to the quick.

Same kind of expression, pierced in their heart and wanted to put them to death.

Whoa, two extremes.

Pierced heart, what shall we do?

Pierced heart, I don't want to hear this.

I want to kill the messenger.

You see that.

How will we respond?

God has designed His Word, the Lagos and the Remus, to cut us deeply.

Cut Hebrews 4-12,.

The Word of God is living.

It's not an ancient document that was only relevant thousands of years ago.

It's relevant now.

It's alive in God's Spirit as he brings it to us.

The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.

It pierces as far as the division of soul and spirit joints and marrow able to judge the thoughts and intentions of our heart.

Are we listening?

No, don't elbow your neighbor.

It's you he's talking to.

You know we think.

Oh, hope people are hearing this.

Yeah, when God's word cuts us deep, watch out.

You're either going to receive it with a good heart and say what does God want me to do?

Or you're going to say I don't want to hear that, I want to get away from that message as far as I can, like Jonah did.

When God's word cuts us deep, cut to the quick, pierce to the heart, we need to respond with a good heart.

The scripture describes three things that characterize a good heart.

Maybe more, but I see three things characterize a good heart when we hear God's word humility, trust and obedience.

A humble heart receives God's word.

Isaiah 66, verses one and two, says Thus, says the Lord heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool.

Where, then, is the house you'd build for me and where is a place that I may rest?

My hand made all these things.

Thus, all these things came into being, declares the Lord.

But this is the one to whom I will look to him, who is humble and contrite of spirit, who trembles at my word.

Second, a trusting heart believes God's word.

Romans 4, 2021,.

The example of Abraham, paul says.

Yet with respect to the promise of God, he, abraham, did not waver in unbelief, but he grew strong in his faith, giving glory to God, being fully convinced or assured that what God promised he was able to perform.

A good heart trusts the Lord's word and believes it.

Third, an obedient heart keeps God's word out of love for the Lord, and Jesus said this John 14, 21,.

He has my commandments, my word, and keeps them, is the one who loves me.

He who loves me will be loved by my Father.

I'll love him and disclose myself to him intimacy as we receive his word and keep it.

Jonah, chapter 3, 1 and 2.

Jonah 3 · chapter mention

Now the word of the Lord came to the Jonah a second time.

Oh, I wonder what God's going to say now.

Hmm, arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, proclaim to it the proclamation I'm going to give you.

So Jonah arose, went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord, and now Nineveh is exceeding grace for three days.

Oh, okay, here we go.

Do you realize how much is in this we need to glean.

I can't even tell you today, have to come back next week, just like Jonah.

Recovering and renewing our fellowship with God is dependent on how our heart responds to the word of God.

Contrast verse 1 of chapter 1 and verse 1 of chapter 3.

Totally different responses.

I think you could see which one God was looking for.

So to recover from our sin failures.

The second thing we need, jonah and we need is to restore God's purpose and mission for our life.

You see, after he heard God's word and refused to obey it, jonah fled from God's presence, and when he did that, he was actually losing sight of his God given purpose and mission in life.

You don't want to do that.

So that's the second thing we need to repent of and return to.

Not just we return to God's word without hearing, ear and a willing heart.

Secondly, you see, god called and gifted Jonah to be a prophet.

God sent Jonah to proclaim his word.

That's the function of a prophet.

Jonah, you see, always thought that his purpose and mission was just to prophesy to his own people, israel.

He said a nice little thing going in northern Israel.

He was thrown for a loop, though, when God told him to leave Israel and go be a prophet to Nineveh.

Whoa, they're enemies, uh-oh, here's where you see, he got his mission and purpose confused.

When God asked him to do the hardest thing in his life, jonah rejected the mission God gave him and started to live for another purpose Himself, his desires.

He wants his safety.

He is concerned about his well-being first and foremost.

Well, that's a totally different mission than what God gave him.

The thing he needs to turn around is get back to understand what God's purpose is for you and what your mission in life is that he's given you.

So next, chapter 3, god helps Jonah restore his divine mission and purpose by telling him to do two things.

He told him at the first, but Jonah wasn't listening.

Now he says it again.

It tells him to do two things go proclaim my message to Nineveh, so to get back on track, you see, with the Lord, from his failure.

God repeats his original word to Jonah Not only are you listening to what he's saying, but are you ready to turn around and willingly accomplish your divine purpose and mission?

This is an extremely important principle in my mind, mainly because I've experienced it.

I've lived it.

I know what's happening.

It's interesting to me, you see when we fail, wherever we get off track spiritually in our relationship with the Lord.

That's where God has to send us back to.

Let's try that again, just like with Jonah I've.

God has had me run through this so many times.

It's not funny Along.

Let me give you one.

A long time ago I told some of you this because it's such, it's had such an impact on my soul.

A long time ago, I was asked to accompany a group of singers on my guitar for a special song.

They were preparing for a very large, important banquet of a lot of Christians.

Well, I agreed, and I practice and practice.

And when the time came, I began to play their introduction and I royally messed it up, I mean, and I stopped.

Everybody's looking at me and all that came out of my mouth was whoops.

And I started again, made it through the song, but I was totally humiliated, absolutely humiliated.

And you know what I did?

I put away my guitar and I said God, I'm not playing that thing again.

That's it.

I'm not going to be humiliated.

Oh, 10 years later, I was asked to play for a worship service.

I said no, went away.

God's spirit wouldn't let that go in my heart.

You said no.

Well, I'll make a long story short.

As I walk through that process, I picked it up and I played it again for them.

God taught me an extremely important lesson I never forgot and I continue to experience every time this happens.

Have you ever told God what you're not going to do?

Don't do that.

You know why.

You just made your own Golgotha.

There you go.

You just created your own Calvary, the thing you must die to to serve God.

You can't be restored without it.

I knew it.

What are you refusing God from God and why?

If you want to be restored, renewed and you're fellowship with God, god will have you go back, just like Jonah.

Let me, let's try this again.

Who do you serve actually Yourself or me?

Very good question.

Let's start again, maybe this time, as you hear my word, with a willing heart.

That would be good.

I've lived it to experience.

Yes, it is.

It's the best thing you can do.

Go back and do it.

Don't ever tell God something you're not going to do when you know better.

I have to catch my eyes.

I tell people you just sold God what you're not going to do.

No, no, no, no.

Do you realize what's going to happen For your surrender to be complete, you have to die to yourself, your own ambitions, your own safety comfort circle.

You've got to die to that when we believe in Jesus.

God has given us a new purpose, a new mission, and it begins, ironically, with the word go.

Matthew 28, 18-20.

Jesus came up to His disciples and spoke to them all authority he's been given to me in heaven and earth.

I'm Lord of all and I'm telling you go, therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you.

I am always with you, to the end of the age.

Notice the connection between what God tells us to do in His word and what our divine purpose and mission is.

They're connected.

Go, therefore.

This is what I'm saying.

This is what happened to Jonah.

Here's his word.

Go proclaim.

Here's us.

Go proclaim Word of God, mission of God, just like Jonah.

A breakdown in one leads to a breakdown in the other.

They're connected, just as they were with Jonah, and if our relationship with God's word and God's mission breaks down, it's a symptom that our fellowship with God is broken.

It ain't where it should be.

That brings us, finally, to the third thing we need to turn around and restore Our heart for God's word, our purpose and mission that God's given us, and for us to restore a relationship with God and renew us by His grace, we must restore our love and loyalty to the Lord above all other priorities, bar none, I told you last week.

So God delivered Jonah, swept him up, saved him from drowning in the belly of the fish, but he still wasn't free.

There's one more thing, and this is it Will you acknowledge me as Lord of all other, your priorities, and then you can get out?

When Jonah repented in the fish, he realized that his huge sin and failure was due to him putting something else ahead of his loving loyalty to the Lord.

Because he recognizes as a sin of idolatry In Jonah, chapter 2, verse 8, those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs, which we looked at last week.

Jonah 2:8

Jonah recognized when we serve our idols, we forfeit God's grace and fellowship.

So guess what?

Jonah smashed the idol of pride by humbling himself and redirecting himself to his complete devotion to the Lord.

Here's what he said right after that Jonah 2.8 and 9, those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

But here's what I'm going to do.

I am rededicating.

I was shouts of grateful praise.

I'll sacrifice to you.

You have everything.

That's what God wanted to hear.

Turn that around your first love, first loyalty, but everything else.

Now you can go and I'll give you my word again Fellowship Restore.

You see, I think one of Jonah's mistakes was confusing his love and loyalty to God with his inability to love his enemies.

This is a very pervasive, common issue for all of us.

Maybe the issue is different, but it's the same kind of thing.

We confuse our love and loyalty to God with something absolutely we dread and hate, either a person or a circumstance.

We don't want to do that and we're confusing the two.

I say that because, listen, after Jesus rose from the dead, jesus helped Peter clarify where his focus needed to be, first and foremost, john 21, 15 to 17.

So when they had finished breakfast, jesus said to Simon Peter, simon, now remember, peter just failed denying the Lord three times.

Now they're meeting after the resurrection for breakfast.

Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these other disciples?

He said to them yes, lord, you know I love you.

He said tend my lands.

Said to him again.

Simon, son of John, do you love me?

He said to him yes, lord, you know I love you.

He said shepherd my sheep.

Third time said to Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter was grieved because he said to them the third time do you love me?

He said to him Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you.

Jesus said to him tend my sheep.

Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him.

Peter responded he loved Jesus.

Jesus told him okay, go serve him by feeding.

See this sheep Note.

Never once did Jesus ask Peter if he loved sheep.

Not once, not one time.

You know what he said Do you love me?

Then you can go and serve.

Where is your focus?

Good question Do you love me?

If the answer is yes, then, and only then, are we able to keep our focus right and do what he wants us to do, and our relationship to God can be renewed, restored, when our first love is Jesus and our first priority is to serve Him.

Just like it was with Jonah, jesus asked us his believers do you love me?

If the answer is yes, go Be his ambassadors for those who don't know him.

So, jonah three the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time.

Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, proclaim to it the proclamation which I'm going to tell you.

So Jonah rose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.

You know what Jesus said in Matthew 1241?

Someone greater than Jonah is here.

Someone greater than Jonah is here.

Jesus is the greater Jonah whom God sent to save us from the judgment for our sins.

In contrast to Jonah, jonah didn't flee to save himself.

He came willingly, lovingly.

And Jesus didn't just preach a message of salvation.

He accomplished work of salvation by dying on the cross for our sins, and he provided the means of our salvation when he said if you believe in me, you will have eternal life.

Well, if you never have, last thing I'd like to say I invite you to open your heart to Jesus and believe in him as your Savior to receive the gift of eternal life.

I trust you will, or you have.

And then listen, listen.

How many times does God have to speak before you're listening?

Let's pray, father, thank you today that you didn't just send your son to die for us, since you gave us your son so that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life, and I do pray for anyone here today who's never believed in Jesus.

Your precious gift to us that somehow you would meet them in their minds and hearts, pierce their hearts in a good way, to open them, not harden them, to believe in Jesus today.

Would you help us who have believed to have a good heart.

Help us to let your word cut us where we need it.

Help us not to ignore the purpose and mission you've given us to share Jesus with those who don't know Him.

We willingly surrender to you, lord, give you all praise and glory and honor, and ask you to help us understand what we need to do as we go forward from this place.

What shall we do?

I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.