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welcome to back to the Bible radio in
just a moment we'll join pastor and
best-selling author Warren Weir's beat
or an encouraging message from God's
Word but first let me remind you to
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let's join dr. Weir's be and see what
God's Word has for us today The Book of
Jonah has always fascinated me and we're
going to be spending some time now
looking into the life and the Ministry
of Jonah
the Book of Jonah is not about Jonah and
a fish it's about Jonah in God Jonah is
mentioned 18 times in the four brief
chapters in the Book of Jonah the fish
is mentioned only four times and God is
named at least 38 times in this book the
Book of Jonah has to do with God and
God's servant the emphasis is God's
worker and God's will because God is far
more concerned about the worker than he
is the work if God wants to get some
work done all he has to do is speak but
he's concerned about the worker you see
we as God's workers can disobey Him we
can rebel against him we can we can turn
away from his will and try to do things
our own way and God is so concerned
about the worker I've always looked up
on the book of johna is a love story
Jonah speaks to us about God's love for
a lost world Jonah is really a
missionary book and so we're going to be
focusing on the Book of Jonah and
learning what God has to do with and
what God has to say to one of his
servants named Jonah now there are many
different approaches that we can take to
this book there are those who see this
book as a symbolic message I have no
problem with that
some people see it as an illustration of
the Jewish nation the Jewish nation was
called to bless the Gentiles they did
not bless
Gentiles they disobeyed God and became
like the Gentiles and so they were cast
out into the nations but they could not
be swallowed up they could not be
digested and one day when Israel is
restored to her proper place God is
going to bless the Gentiles through them
and bring glory to his world so there is
a sort of symbolic message to Jonah
there certainly is a salvation message
here we're going to see how that Jesus
Christ is greater than Jonah in all that
he is and all that he does but I think I
want to look at it from the personal
point of view here we are as the
children of God and we need to learn to
relate to the will of God oh there are
so many false ideas around about the
will of God and we're going to see how
that God and Jonah get together to
accomplish what God wants to accomplish
now there are four chapters in the Book
of Jonah and I think it's good for us
when we study the Word of God to get the
overview I think it's very very helpful
to see the total picture before we
examine the individual verses and the
individual words in Chapter 1 God calls
Jonah Jonah rebels the storm comes and
Jonah is cast into the waters and
swallowed by the great fish chapter 1
we're going to call resignation Jonah
resigned his commission he fled from the
presence of the Lord and said I will no
longer be a prophet
that's resignation chapter 1 in chapter
2 from out of the innards of the great
fish Jonah prays and he prays a prayer
of confession quoting from six different
Psalms he lays his heart bare before God
and God speaks to the fish and the fish
regurgitates Jonah on the dry land and
so chapter 2 we're going to call
repentance resignation and then
repentance now in chapter 3 God's Word
comes to Jonah the second time Jonah
obeys this time and goes to Nineveh and
preaches the Word of God and a wonderful
wonderful thing happens the people
repent and there is a great revival so
chapter 3 we're going to call revival
now in chapter 4 you'd think that Jonah
would be happy about all of this
he has obeyed God finally he has seen
the city of Nineveh repent you'd think
that Jonah would be rejoicing he'd be
mingling with the people teaching them
about the true God of the Jewish nation
but no no Jonah is sitting outside the
city very angry an angry man hoping that
God will destroy the city and there he
has to meet with God you'll notice that
Jonah chapter 4 ends on a rather high note
note
it never does come down to tell us what
happened there ought to be a twelfth
verse there that says and Jonah repented
of his angry attitude and went and
ministered to the people but that
doesn't say them the book ends with God
saying and should I not spare Nineveh
that great city in which are more than
six score thousand persons that cannot
discern between their right hand and
their left hand and also much cattle
period question mark that's it but we
have every reason to believe that Jonah
did repent and that he learned his
lesson and so chapter four we're going
to call rebellion here is the prophet
outside the city rebelling against God
so as you review the Book of Jonah in
your mind just remember chapter 1
resignation he does not want to do God's will
will
chapter 2 repentance he asks for God's forgiveness
forgiveness
chapter 3 revival he experiences God's
power in chapter 4 rebellion he did not
want to see the city saved now why do we
have these four chapters not just to
give us the history of Jonah in God
there's much more to it than that
you see in each of these chapters Jonah
learned something about God I have made
this statement in various places
sometimes people have questioned me but
I believe it's true the purpose of our
Bible study is not to study the Bible
it's to get to know God better now it is
important to study the Bible but I have
met people in my ministry who know their
Bibles but they don't know God the
purpose of the Word of God is to reveal
the God of the word and the purpose of
the experiences of life is for us to get
to know God better the last time you
went through a storm did you get to know
God better the last time there was some
difficulty did you get to know God
better the last time God used your
ministry to help somebody else did you
get to know God better but grow in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ that's what Peter
wrote in 2nd Peter chapter 3 and verse
18 now it's possible to grow in
knowledge and not grow in grace Paul
wrote to the Corinthians in in 1st
Corinthians 8:1 and said knowledge puffs
up but love builds up it's possible to
have a great deal of Bible knowledge and
yet nobody can live with you and so the
purpose of Bible study is not to study
the Bible it's to get to know God better
what did Jonah learn about God well he
learned four very important lessons
about God in Chapter one he learned the
lesson of God's providence God is in
control of events either you cooperate
with God and everything will work for
you or you rebel against God and
everything will work against you make
your choice he learned the lesson of
God's providence in chapter 1 he learned
that God can control ships he can
control wind he can even control dice
that are being rolled there on the deck
of the ship
he can control the waves he can control
the fish the lesson of God's providence
in chapter 2 he learns the lesson of
God's pardon he is a God who pardons he
is a merciful God he is a God who will hear
hear
our confession and forgive us you know
many times in our Christian lives we
disobey God and then we find out how
wrong we really were and so we come to
God and we ask God to forgive us and he
does and so in Chapter two
Jonah learned the lesson of God's pardon
God had to chasten him but then finally
he confessed his sins Jonah did and he
was cleansed now in Chapter three he
learns the lesson of God's power if the
child of God will obey the will of God
and share the Word of God he'll see the
power of God go to work
Nineveh is the last city you ever would
have expected to repent it was a wicked
City they were a godless people and yet
Jonah got into that city and began to
preach a message of judgment and the
people repented from the king down to
the cattle in the fields the animals
even went into sackcloth and ashes and
Jonah learned the lesson of God's power
you know our trouble is we second-guess
God we can't see how God can accomplish
what he wants to accomplish and yet if
we'll just obey Him if it'll just do
what he wants us to do he'll take care
of the rest I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me that's what
Paul wrote in Philippians four and it's
still true he saw the lesson of God's
power that God is able to do exceedingly
abundantly above all that we ask or think
think
now the key chapter in the Book of Jonah
is chapter four in Chapter four Jonah
had one more lesson to learn he'd
learned the lesson of God's providence
you can't run away from God he's
everywhere in control he learned the
lesson of God's pardon if you'll run to
God he will forgive you he learned the
lesson of God's power if you'll work
with God he will do amazing things now
in chapter 4 Jonah has to learn the
lesson of God's pity God's pity the last
thing God says here he says should I not
spare Nineveh should I not have pity
upon Nineveh the lesson of God's pity
here we have a man Jonah
who preached a tremendous revival and he
hated the people he was preaching to he
did not have the love of God in his
heart Jonah is sort of the elder brother
of the Old Testament he did his work but
he did it grudgingly
and he did he did it not out of love but
out of fear now when you take all of
these lessons and put them together you
learn one great lesson it's simply this
Jonah was wrongly related to the will of
God God's will for Jonah was something
that Jonah would not accept and so in
each of these chapters we find Jonah
relating differently to the will of God
you see in Chapter 1 he was afraid of
God's will so he ran away now don't ever
be afraid of God's will the will of God
is the expression of the love of God for
you he was afraid of God's will and so
he resigned and he tried to run away now
in Chapter two he wanted the will of God
only in emergencies here he was in the
innards of the great fish and boy this
was an emergency this was serious now in
Chapter three he obeyed the will of God
because he had to God's Word came to him
a second time and said get going and so
Jonah went he didn't want to go through
another storm he didn't want to go
through another digestive experience in
that great fish he said I'll obey I'll
obey don't you have to tell me again and
so he obeyed the will of God he did it
only because he was afraid he had to do
it but you see in Chapter four he needs
to learn the lesson that God's will
means God's love the lesson of God's
pity do you love the will of God do you
see in the will of God the expression of
the love of God Psalm 33 11 says the
counsel of the Lord stands forever the
thoughts of his heart to all generations
the Book of Jonah wants me to learn this
great lesson that the will of God is the
greatest thing in all the world don't be
afraid of it
don't turn to God's will just in
emergencies don't obey it because you
have to obey the will of God because you
love the God who has revealed his will
to you that is the lesson we want to
learn from the Book of Jonah now the
word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son
of a myth high saying arise go to
Nineveh that great city and cry against
it for their wickedness has come up
before me Jonah chapter 1 verses 1 & 2
The Book of Jonah is a love story God's
love for Jonah in God's love for a lost
world because God loved Jonah he called
him to be a part of this love story and
yet Jonah disobeyed God there are four
factors involved in this marvelous love
story and these four factors are given
to us in Jonah chapter 1 verses 1 & 2
the first factor is God's work now is
the first word of this book actually in
the Hebrew Old Testament it is the word
and we don't begin books with the word
and because and is a conjunction it
connects something and you don't start
with and you might use and in the middle
of a sentence or the middle of a
paragraph you might start a chapter in
the middle of a book with and but you
don't start a book with and and yet
interestingly enough there are 14 Old
Testament books that begin with this
little Hebrew letter that means and why
would God begin books with and God is
saying to us this book is a part of
something that's been going on before
what is God's work God's work is winning
a lost world to the Savior now God's
work began back in Genesis chapter 3 the
first man and the first woman disobeyed
God and sinned and they ran and hid
conscience makes cowards of us all
in fear they ran from the fellowship of
a loving God and they hid themselves and
God came seeking them God cried out Adam
where art thou it was not the voice of a
policeman looking for a criminal it was
the voice of a broken hearted father
looking for a wayward child that was the
beginning of God's work God continued
that work in the calling of Abraham he
said to Abraham through you all the
nations of the earth are going to be
blessed that was fulfilled of course in
the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ he
called the nation of Israel to be a
blessing to the Gentile nations God
called the nation of Israel to be a
light unto the Gentiles isaiah 42:6 our
Lord Jesus Christ said my father has
been working and I am working we must
work the works of him that sent me while
it is yet Dave what is God's work God's
work is the work of winning a lost world
to salvation that's why the church is
here God has not left us here for the
purpose of just fighting battles or
carrying burdens God's left us here to
be a blessing God's left us here to use
our hands and our feet to use our lips
and our eyes and our ears and all of our
being to Minister the gospel of Jesus
Christ to a lost world
the first factor in this marvelous love
story between Jonah and God and Jonah
and a lost world is God's work are you
involved in God's work are you praying
for the lost are you praying for those
who minister to the lost are you giving
that people might come to know Christ
God's great concern is for a lost world
and this is why we are here factor
number 1 is God's work factor number 2
in this love story is God's Word now the
word of the Lord came unto Jonah you see
our God is a God who speaks throughout
the Book of Jonah you'll find that when
God speaks things happen
in verse four God speaks to the wind and
the wind begins to blow and there's a
mighty tempest on the sea in verse 15
once again he speaks to the sea and to
the wind and it ceases it's raging he's
a God who can speak to nature he speaks
to the great fish in verse 17 of chapter
1 and the fish swallows Jonah he speaks
to the fish again in chapter 2 verse 10
and the fish regurgitates Jonah our God
is a God who can speak to the wind and
to the waves and to the fish he even
speaks to a gourd
in chapter 4 of Jonah he prepares the
gourd and the gourd grows up in shelters
Jonah and then God speaks even to a
lowly little worm in chapter 4 verse 7
and that worm causes the gourd to die
then God speaks to another wind in
chapter 4 verse 8 and this hot wind
blows upon Jonah is it not interesting
that God speaks to nature and nature
obeys God speaks to a man and the man
disobeys everything in nature obeys God
even the stormy winds fulfill his word
but when God speaks to man man says well
I don't think I'll obey and Jonah
decided to go in the opposite direction
God is speaking today Hebrews chapter 1
verses 1 & 2 these verses remind us that
God is speaking God who at sundry times
and in divers manners spake in times
past unto the father's through the
prophets hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his son God has spoken now
what are you doing about the fact that
God has spoken that's why the book of
Hebrews emphasizes the Word of God the
purpose of our Bible study is not to
study the Bible it's to get to know God
better now it is important to study the
Bible but I have met people in my
ministry who know their Bibles but they
don't know God the purpose of the Word
of God is to reveal the god of
the word and the purpose of the
experiences of life is for us to get to
know God better the last time you went
through a storm did you get to know God
better the last time there was some
difficulty did you get to know God
better the last time God used your
ministry to help somebody else did you
get to know God better but grow in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ that's what Peter
wrote in 2nd Peter chapter 3 and verse
18 now it's possible to grow in
knowledge and not grow in grace Paul
wrote to the Corinthians in 1st
Corinthians 8:1 and said knowledge puffs
up but love builds up it's possible to
have a great deal of Bible knowledge and
yet nobody can live with you and so the
purpose of Bible study is not to study
the Bible it's to get to know God better
today while you hear his voice harden
not your heart God's Word is the second
factor in this love story and God's work
means getting out God's word to a lost
world now what's God saying to us today
well he says all authority in heaven and
on earth is given unto me go get going
go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature repentance and
remission of sins shall be preached
beginning at Jerusalem as the father has
sent me so send I you
you shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you and you shall
be witnesses unto me unto the uttermost
part of the earth he says to us get
going because the Word of God is what
fulfills the work of God God's Word
created everything in God's Word
controls everything in God's word is
going to climax everything and he has
given that word to us God's Word is able
we are not able 2nd timothy 3:15 tells
me the Word of God is able to save my
word is not able to save anybody but
God's Word is acts 20:32 reminds me that
God's Word is able to build me up and
give me an inheritance among those that are
are
thank to fight today while you hear his
voice harden not your heart God's Word
is the second factor in this love story
and God's work means getting out God's
Word to a lost world we're glad you
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