0:01 [Music] foreign
0:03 foreign [Music]
0:43 [Music] foreign
1:04 to Jonah chapter four
1:06 if you and I were writing the Book of
1:10 Jonah there wouldn't be any chapter four
1:12 which shows how little we know about the
1:14 ways of God
1:17 after all chapter 3 records Jonah's success
1:18 success
1:20 a million people plus their animals repented
1:22 repented
1:23 that's all the church is concerned about
1:25 today is success
1:29 some good statistics to report
1:31 and notice that we've gone back to the
1:34 little phrase but
1:36 now we ran up against this in chapter
1:40 one God told John to arise and go verse
1:42 3 but Jonah
1:45 and then verse 4 but the Lord you butt
1:46 up against the Lord and he'll butt up
1:48 against you
1:51 chapter two he chastens Jonah chapter 3
1:54 Jonah obeys we go from but Jonah in
1:58 Chapter 2 then Jonah chapter 3 sojonah
2:04 but it displeased Jonah exceedingly and
2:08 he was very angry
2:10 and he prayed unto the Lord and said I
2:13 pray thee O Lord was not this my saying
2:15 when I was yet in my country
2:18 therefore I fled before unto tarshish
2:20 for I knew that thou art a gracious God
2:22 and merciful
2:24 slow to anger
2:27 of great kindness and repentance thee of
2:29 the evil therefore now O Lord take I
2:33 beseech thee my life from me now if he
2:35 hadn't added that from me and he'd meant
2:36 it spiritually he would have gotten
2:39 someplace take O Lord my life
2:42 but he wanted to die it is better for me
2:45 to die than to live
2:47 then said the Lord do us thou will to be angry
2:49 angry
2:51 so Jonah went out of the city
2:53 and sat on the east side of the city and
2:56 there made a booth for himself and sat
2:58 under it in the shadow until he might
3:02 see what would become of the city
3:04 hoping of course that God would change
3:06 his mind and destroy the enemy and the
3:09 Lord God prepared a gourd
3:12 and made it to come up over Jonah this
3:15 is a plant with large leaves that looked
3:17 like the palm of your hand
3:19 that it might be a shadow over his head
3:22 to deliver him from his grief so Jonah
3:25 was exceedingly glad
3:28 of the gourd but God
3:30 prepared a worm
3:33 when the morning Rose the next day and
3:36 it smoked the gourd that it withered and
3:39 it came to pass when the sun did rise
3:44 that God prepared a vehement East Wind
3:47 and the Sun Beat upon the head of Jonah
3:50 that he fainted and wished it himself to
3:53 die and said it is better for me to die
3:55 than to live
3:57 and God said that you want to do us thou
4:00 well to be angry for the gore and he
4:03 said I do well to be angry even unto death
4:04 death
4:07 then said the Lord
4:10 thou Hast had pity on the gourd for
4:13 which thou Hast not labored neither made
4:15 us did grow which came up in a night and
4:17 perished and I
4:20 and should not I spare Nineveh that
4:22 great City
4:24 in which are more than six score a
4:27 thousand persons that cannot discern
4:28 between their right hand and their left
4:31 hand that means little children
4:34 and all so much cattle
4:36 and would you believe there is no verse 12.
4:41 it's not dropped out of any manuscripts
4:44 it never was in any manuscripts
4:45 you know why
4:52 Jonah chapter 4
4:55 finishes the book and shows us that God
4:57 is more concerned about the worker than
5:00 he is the work
5:03 God didn't say well this is marvelous
5:06 Nineveh is repented there's no judgment
5:08 Joan is sitting there pouting but that's
5:10 all right he'll get over it no no God
5:12 doesn't do that
5:15 after all Jonah was God's missionary
5:18 have you ever sat on a committee
5:21 interviewing a missionary candidate
5:23 I have it's interesting difficult
5:25 difficult
5:27 what I'd like to do tonight is consider
5:30 Jonah as a missionary candidate
5:32 all that we know about the Book of Jonah now
5:33 now
5:37 and I want to call three witnesses to
5:38 our committee we're all going to become
5:41 a committee of the whole tonight
5:43 I want to call first of all the witness
5:45 of his credentials
5:46 now if you're going to go to be a
5:47 missionary you've got to have certain
5:49 credentials they they make you fill out
5:52 certain forms and they ask you a lot of
5:53 questions so first we're going to talk
5:55 about his credentials then the witness
5:58 of his companions I want to go through
5:59 this book and call out the people who
6:03 were with Jonah and see what they know
6:05 and then last of all and most important
6:09 the witness of his Lord his creator or
6:11 his savior see what God has to say about
6:14 it let's begin now with the witness of
6:16 his credentials Jonah is now seated
6:18 before us the committee is meeting and
6:19 we're going to ask him the questions
6:21 that are asked just about every
6:22 missionary candidate
6:26 Jonah number one has God called you
6:31 do you feel a call of God oh yeah twice twice
6:33 twice
6:35 you really feel you're called of God yes
6:37 the word of the Lord came to me saying
6:40 arise go to Nineveh yes I can call God's
6:41 called you yes because you don't want to
6:47 question number two
6:50 Jonah is your theology Evangelical
6:52 Evangelical
6:55 are you Orthodox in your theology oh of
6:57 course I am
7:00 I believe in the god of Israel I believe
7:03 in God who is gracious and merciful and
7:06 slow to anger and of great kindness a
7:08 God who repents of evil I believe that
7:10 salvation is of the Lord [Music]
7:12 [Music]
7:14 he said that you know back in chapter 2
7:20 all right you have a call from God and
7:23 your theology is evangelical
7:26 there's a third question Jonah do you pray
7:27 pray
7:29 do I pray
7:33 oh I have prayed in strange places
7:37 does God answer your prayers oh does he
7:40 answer my prayers let me tell you about
7:43 the miracle that I went through
7:46 now this story may sound fishy to you
7:51 and so the committee would look at each
7:54 other and say this is good here's a man
7:58 who when he prays God works
8:00 now there's always somebody on every
8:02 committee who's concerned about the
8:08 and so the some committee members
8:22 nobody's gone deeper than I've gone
8:25 I've been down to the bottoms of the mountains
8:26 mountains
8:30 I know what it's like to die and to be
8:32 raised from the dead
8:33 you don't have to talk to me about
8:36 walking in newness of life I die that I
8:38 was raised I know the Deeper Life
8:40 wonderful we don't want any missionaries
8:45 well here's another question they always ask
8:47 ask
8:49 you've done some preaching Jonah does
8:51 your preaching bring results oh sure
8:53 haven't you heard
8:56 I went and preached to a city
9:00 there were 120 000 children in it and
9:01 there were a lot of parents and uncles
9:04 and aunts nearly a million people and
9:06 the whole city repented the whole the
9:10 whole city even the animals remarkable
9:11 remarkable
9:13 oh yes I've had results from my
9:17 there's always one like this on the committee
9:20 committee
9:23 Jonah can you quote scripture
9:26 you believe in Bible memory work oh yes
9:28 I can quote the Psalms by the yard and I
9:35 back in chapter two you've got Jonah
9:38 quoting scripture by the yard yes I I
9:40 believe in scripture I quote scripture
9:43 in fact here in chapter 4 verse 2 when
9:45 he has this statement I know thou art a
9:47 gracious God and merciful and so forth
9:50 he's quoting from from two experiences
9:53 in Moses life Exodus chapter 34 and
9:55 Numbers chapter 14. on those two
9:57 occasions when Israel sinned so
9:59 grievously and Moses had to go up in the
10:01 Mountaintop and intercede these are the
10:03 words that Moses used oh I can quote the
10:06 Psalms I can quote from the law
10:08 that's marvelous we don't want any many
10:11 missionaries who can't quote scripture
10:13 Jonah have you got any courage it takes
10:15 courage to be a missionary oh I've got
10:16 courage I was willing for those people
10:19 to throw me in the water
10:22 to save them I've got courage don't talk
10:23 to me about courage I've got enough courage
10:25 courage
10:27 now John if you'll leave the room we
10:29 want to discuss this so Jonah leaves the
10:30 room and you know what the result would be
10:31 be
10:33 they would look at these credentials and
10:34 they would say you know this is a this
10:37 is the finest missionary candidate we
10:39 have ever
10:42 interrogated he's called of God he's
10:44 theologically sound there's no
10:48 liberalism he gets answers to prayer
10:52 he knows what it is to die to self
10:54 his preaching has brought results he can
10:56 quote scripture
11:00 and he's a courageous man we had better
11:03 sign him up he's the kind of missionary
11:04 we're looking for
11:07 and yet folks
11:16 here he sits outside the city angry at
11:17 the very people he should be reaching
11:21 here he sits pal King foreign
11:21 foreign [Music]
11:23 [Music]
11:27 s today folks is that we have the wrong
11:35 the one question they did not ask Jonah
11:37 Jonah
11:39 and by the way it's a question we
11:41 usually ask when we're interrogating
11:43 missionary candidates on the board where
11:46 I serve
11:49 do you have a love
11:52 for the people you're going to minister to
11:54 to
11:57 because if you don't I don't care what
11:59 kind of theology you have I don't care
12:02 how many times God has called you I
12:03 don't care how many miracles you've been
12:05 through I don't care how much preaching
12:08 you've done if you don't have a love for
12:09 the people you're ministering to you're
12:16 isn't it too bad that we have so many
12:19 people who have good Theology and bad attitudes
12:23 if you were to ask them about their
12:26 theology their theology would be as
12:29 Orthodox as it could be and their
12:32 attitudes could be as unorthodox and as mean
12:40 his credentials well he passes as far as
12:43 the credentials are concerned but God
12:48 now let's call a second witness that's
12:50 called the witness of his companions
12:53 let's just go through these chapters and
12:55 find the people who know Jonah let's
12:58 begin in chapter one now we have here
13:00 gentlemen and Ladies we have here the
13:02 sailors who were on board the ship where
13:05 Jonah was and I want to ask these
13:07 Sailors a question what do you know
13:09 about Jonah
13:13 that man is a troublemaker
13:15 everything was going fine on our ship
13:17 till he got on
13:19 the troublemaker
13:26 he sleeps
13:29 we were praying to our Gods he didn't
13:30 come up and pray to his God when he did
13:32 nothing happen
13:34 we finally had to cast some lots and
13:36 they pointed to him that he was the
13:38 Troublemaker you're going to send him
13:39 out to the mission feel a troublemaker
13:42 like that he almost wrecked our ship and
13:45 we almost lost our lives
13:47 he's a troublemaker [Music]
13:49 [Music]
13:51 and in the Bible there are two kinds of
13:52 troublemakers there are people who cause
13:54 trouble because they're out of the will
13:55 of God and there are people who cause
13:57 trouble because they're in the will of God
13:58 God
14:00 Jonah caused trouble out of the will of
14:03 God David caused trouble out of the will
14:05 of God Abraham caused trouble out of the
14:07 will of God
14:09 Jesus caused trouble in the will of God
14:11 remember one of the indictments they
14:13 brought against the Lord Jesus when they
14:16 brought in those uh Witnesses they said
14:18 he stirs up the people
14:20 that's an awful sin to stir up the
14:22 people because the people ought to just
14:25 sit and not be stirred up the same thing
14:27 was a key the same accusation was made
14:28 to Paul
14:30 these men who have turned the world
14:33 upside down have come hither
14:35 Vance havner has said whatever whatever
14:37 Paul went there was either a Revival or
14:38 a riot
14:40 and sometimes there was both
14:47 well let's move to the next chapter now
14:49 folks if you'll just move your chairs
14:50 back a little bit I want to call the
14:52 great fish in
14:54 he had a rather close attachment to
14:57 Jonah we want to talk to him
15:01 uh Mr Fish
15:04 what do you know about this fella
15:14 he was called by The God Who made me
15:18 to go preach and he refused to do it I
15:20 am only a thief
15:22 but when my God tells me to do something
15:29 everything in all of creation does what
15:32 God wants it to do except people and
15:35 especially Jonah he's a stubborn man
15:37 he could have confessed his sin and
15:39 repented on board that ship but he
15:40 didn't do it he could have done it on
15:42 the way from the ship to the water but
15:45 he didn't do it and my God instructed me
15:46 to go swallow him and on the way down he
15:49 could have done it he didn't do it took
15:50 three days and three nights before he
15:53 finally was broken
15:55 he's a stubborn man
16:00 and quite frankly Mr committee members
16:12 chapter 3 let's call on the people of Nineveh
16:14 Nineveh
16:17 you heard of Jonah oh we heard it Jonah
16:19 he came walking through our city he was
16:22 the weirdest looking fellow we ever saw
16:25 and we found out he had been swallowed
16:27 by a great fish and he had been vomited
16:29 out in the land he'd gone through a
16:31 miracle and he preached a message to us
16:37 40 days none of us shall be overthrown
16:41 really he came to be our savior he came
16:43 as an ambassador and he led us to
16:45 repentance but we don't understand this
16:48 fella you know he should be in our city
16:51 praying with people and teaching people
16:54 and passing out follow-up literature
16:56 enrolling people and you know where he is
16:58 is
17:01 he's out there sitting in a booth pouting
17:03 pouting
17:04 we found out he really would have been
17:08 happier if all of us had gone to hell
17:11 and quite frankly he's a problem to us
17:13 we love him because he brought us God's
17:15 message but we we don't know what to do
17:17 with him he's he's an enigma he's a
17:24 why don't we move to chapter four
17:38 the worm comes in
17:40 and we say to the worm you know Jonah yeah
17:43 yeah
17:45 the great Creator called me and said I
17:52 what do you know about him he is
17:59 now he may be 40 50 years old I don't
18:01 know how old Jonah was he was old enough
18:02 to know better [Music]
18:03 [Music]
18:06 but he's a child he's immature look at
18:08 the evidences of his inventory he's
18:12 living by his feelings not by obedience
18:15 to God he doesn't feel like he ought to
18:17 do something and so he's sitting there
18:19 in that Booth pouting
18:21 he's angry
18:24 he's angry at God
18:26 he's angry at God because he didn't get
18:29 what he wanted I meet people regularly
18:31 regularly
18:35 whose lives are filled with bitterness
18:38 because they're angry at God
18:41 I've been receiving strange letters from
18:44 my radio listener who's angry at God
18:46 and now she's angry at me [Music]
18:48 [Music]
18:50 and this is tragic God didn't do
18:52 something she thought he should do and
18:53 he didn't do it the way it was supposed
18:55 to be done according to her Blueprints
18:57 and she's angry and this bitterness just
18:58 shows up
19:00 in her letter
19:02 and the worm says you know he's an
19:05 immature fella he's angry living by his feelings
19:06 feelings
19:09 he's immature because he's bigoted and prejudiced
19:11 prejudiced
19:14 as a Jew he did not want to see Nineveh
19:17 spared because Nineveh is the enemy of
19:19 Israel he wanted to be able to go home
19:22 and say to his Jewish congregation see
19:25 God destroyed Nineveh for her sins now
19:32 he wanted to be a good Patriot and he
19:35 was so bigoted and so prejudiced you
19:42 to put dinner in front of a child and on
19:45 that plate his liver
19:47 I heard a song in the radio some months
19:55 like liver
19:58 saved my life when I was a little boy I
20:01 had to eat it regularly
20:03 and so the child gets liver put in front
20:05 of him
20:07 I'm not gonna eat that why
20:08 why
20:10 I don't like it
20:12 that's no good reason
20:14 last time I took medicine I didn't like it
20:15 it
20:18 there's no good reason prejudice bigotry
20:20 bigotry
20:22 and the worm says you know he doesn't
20:24 have any burden for the loss you're
20:25 going to send him out as a missionary he
20:28 has no burden for the Lost he's sitting
20:30 there in that Booth hoping that the city
20:32 will be destroyed
20:35 now he was shown Mercy by God God showed
20:37 him mercy God brought him up out of the
20:40 depths God's God was merciful to him but
20:42 he won't share that Mercy with anybody else
20:44 else
20:45 he doesn't have a burden for soul oh
20:48 sure he can quote he can quote scripture
20:51 but he's quoting scripture from man who
20:54 loves souls he quotes from Exodus has he
20:56 forgotten that Moses went up there and
20:58 said dear God pardon the sins of the
21:00 people of Israel and if you can't pardon
21:02 them take my life
21:05 judge me but don't judge them
21:07 that's the way Paul prayed Paul said I'd
21:09 rather go to hell than see my own people
21:13 not get the gospel
21:16 so says our witnessing worm he has no
21:18 burden for the loss and he goes on to
21:20 say he is very unlike the God that he preaches
21:26 God is gracious his man's not gracious
21:29 God is merciful he's not merciful slow
21:32 to anger why he loses his temper like
21:34 that great kindness he doesn't know the
21:36 meaning of kindness repentancy of the
21:38 evil his heart is so hard he will not repent
21:40 repent
21:42 how can you send him out
21:44 to Bear witness of a god
21:47 that he really doesn't
21:52 this last week or so I've been rereading
21:55 some of Dr A.W tozer's essays if you've
21:57 never read Toes or you have robbed yourself
21:58 yourself
22:01 you get a hold of A.W tozer's writings
22:03 and read them
22:05 and every essay every little message has
22:08 the same message same emphasis
22:11 it's not important to know about God we
22:14 have to know God
22:16 a lot of us know about God
22:18 we know about God's character and about
22:21 God's creation and about God's word we
22:22 don't know God
22:25 and the more we know God the more we
22:27 become like God and Jonah got A's on all
22:29 of his theology exams but did not really
22:35 and our worm continues he told you he
22:37 had answers to prayer he did but his
22:39 prayers are very selfish
22:42 why that prayer back in chapter two he
22:45 prayed that to save his own skin
22:47 but in chapter one he didn't pray to
22:49 save anybody else's skin and here in
22:51 chapter 4 instead of praying for these
22:53 dear people who are repenting he's
22:55 praying take my life take my life I want
22:57 to die I'd rather die than go back home
23:00 and have to face my Jewish friends
23:06 his prayers are selfish if he doesn't
23:08 get what he wants he gets Ang [Music]
23:10 [Music]
23:12 to put it in one simple sentence he's pampered
23:21 he likes to have Creature Comforts
23:23 when he was sitting out there in the
23:25 booth and the gourd came up he was so
23:28 happy for that gourd because it shaded
23:31 him from the Sun
23:33 and our worm says to the committee you
23:35 know folks the thing that makes you
23:37 happy shows what your character is
23:40 he wasn't happy because Nineveh repented
23:42 he was happy because he had some shade
23:49 but our worm doesn't leave much of a
23:55 according to Jonah's credentials
23:57 he's got it made he's the ideal missionary
23:58 missionary
24:01 according to Jonah's companions he flunks
24:02 flunks
24:05 he's the worst possible candidate
24:08 what are we going to do
24:09 well there's one more witness we need to
24:12 call that's the witness of God
24:16 Jonah's Creator and Jonas God
24:17 God
24:19 let's ask God what he knows about this
24:22 now far be it for me that I should ever
24:25 interrogate God
24:27 but let's use our imaginations tonight
24:30 did you call Jonah yes I did called him twice
24:32 twice
24:34 did Jonah obey you [Music]
24:36 [Music]
24:39 yes he obeyed me outwardly but not inwardly
24:41 inwardly
24:43 what do you mean by that
24:45 his heart wasn't in it
24:48 in Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 6 it
24:52 says doing the will of God
24:53 from your heart [Music]
24:55 [Music]
25:02 but not from his heart
25:08 are the statements true that these
25:10 Witnesses gave yes they're all true
25:12 every one of them
25:16 well then Lord what do you suggest we do [Music]
25:18 [Music]
25:26 there's another lesson he has to learn
25:28 from me that he hasn't learned yet let
25:31 me teach him that lesson I'm glad God
25:33 doesn't give up on missionary candidates
25:35 or preacher candidates or Deacon
25:40 candidates or Saint candidates
25:41 I'm glad that God didn't give up on
25:43 Abraham the first time Abraham fell flat
25:45 on his face
25:46 down in Egypt
25:49 I'm glad he didn't give up on David when
25:51 David ran scared
25:54 I'm glad he didn't give up on Jeremiah
25:56 when Jeremiah was ready to quit
25:59 I'm glad I didn't give up on Peter
26:01 when Peter denied him three times I'm
26:04 glad he didn't give up on John Mark we
26:06 wouldn't have the gospel of Mark if he'd
26:08 given up on John Mark
26:10 I'm glad he hasn't given up on you and
26:12 I've given up on me
26:16 now this was no opportunity to tempt God
26:19 but it is an encouragement not to quit
26:22 and God says to the missionary committee
26:25 let's give him another opportunity he
26:27 has some more lessons to learn and I
26:28 think after he's learned these lessons
26:33 he will be just the missionary you need [Music]
26:34 [Music]
26:37 I notice how God deals with Jonah up
26:39 till now he's been dealing with Jonah
26:42 with big things storms
26:47 and seas and great fish lots of noise
26:53 but now he's not doing that
26:55 now he's dealing with god with Jonah
26:58 very gently
27:07 wind now the wind he's talking about
27:11 here is that hot Oriental wind that is
27:15 so stifling and so smothering
27:18 that you can't take it when this kind of
27:21 a wind begins to blow in the desert
27:24 areas people Run for Cover they find any
27:27 cool place they can find because this
27:30 wind just almost buries you in the
27:32 stifling atmosphere and the sun was
27:36 beating down upon Joy nothing noisy
27:39 nothing huge and cumbersome
27:41 but it was there
27:43 God had to deal further with Jonah but
27:46 he dealt with him so gently
27:49 and so patiently and so graciously
27:51 because he had to teach him one more lesson
27:51 lesson [Music]
27:53 [Music]
27:55 you see in the first three chapters of
27:57 this book Jonah had learned three very
27:59 important lessons about God
28:02 chapter one he learned the lesson of
28:04 God's Providence you can't run away from God
28:06 God
28:07 wherever you go God's going to be there
28:11 and he'll keep backing you into a corner
28:13 chapter two he learned the lesson of
28:15 God's pardon if you cry out and say Lord
28:18 forgive me God I'll forgive you chapter
28:19 3 he learned the lesson of God's power
28:22 you obey God
28:25 God will do something God powerfully
28:28 worked through his word in chapter 3.
28:31 but there's one little word In Jonah 4 10.
28:32 10.
28:34 it shows the fourth lesson Jonah had to
28:36 learn the most important lesson not the
28:39 lesson of God's Providence and not the
28:41 lesson of God's pardon and not the
28:43 lesson of God's power but the lesson of
28:44 God's pity
28:48 Jonah had to learn how to love lost souls
28:50 souls [Music]
28:51 [Music]
28:54 now how did God teach him this
28:56 this is a truth I picked up from Phil Lassie
28:57 Lassie
28:59 he and I have been working together for
29:01 a long time we haven't gotten it written
29:04 yet but we're working on a book on Jonah
29:06 Phil said to me you know did you ever
29:08 notice that the first time God dealt
29:10 with Jonah he stuck him down in these in
29:13 the sea down in the fish way down where
29:17 it was dark and dismal and damp dangerous
29:19 dangerous
29:21 the second time he dealt with Jonah he
29:23 had him right out in the open with the
29:26 sun beating down on him that hot wind
29:29 blowing against him from water which was
29:32 cold and clammy to heat
29:40 I said tell me why did he do it that way
29:42 Phil said I think
29:44 that the reason God did this
29:47 was to remind Jonah of what it felt like
29:49 to be a Lost Sinner
29:52 and I think he's right
29:54 what's it like to be a Lost Sinner it's
29:56 like being down the bottom of the ocean dark
29:58 dark death
30:03 Jonah said I'm in a dungeon I've come to
30:11 where are unsaved people tonight they're
30:14 in darkness they're in death
30:17 they're in dungeons
30:18 then he went to the Other Extreme what's
30:21 it like to be unsaved that awful heat
30:27 that awful torment that constant torture
30:30 I wonder if In Jonah chapter 4
30:33 God wasn't giving Jonah A Taste of hell [Music]
30:35 [Music]
30:38 I firmly believe that if tonight every
30:42 one of us dreamed that we went to hell
30:44 came back
30:46 it would change our attitude toward lost
30:48 souls it would change our attitude
30:51 toward giving toward praying toward
30:53 obeying toward missions [Music]
30:55 [Music]
30:57 and God said let me just take one more
31:01 opportunity of dealing with children
31:04 but Lord what is it you want from Jonah
31:11 no when I made Jonah here's what I gave
31:14 him says God I gave him a body
31:16 I gave my mind
31:19 I gave him a will and I gave him a heart
31:23 and I called All of Jonah to serve me
31:26 and over in the first chapter I said
31:28 arise go to Nineveh I wanted him to
31:32 understand my will with his mind
31:34 I wanted him to love my will with his
31:37 heart I wanted him to do my will with
31:40 his will controlling his body
31:43 but instead Jonah had my will in his
31:45 mind but not the rest of him
31:47 and he picked up his body and went in
31:49 the opposite direction so I had to track
31:52 him down and in chapter two he said I
31:55 will I will so in Chapter 2 I got his
31:57 will chapter one I got his mind chapter
31:59 two I got his will chapter three I got
32:01 his body he took his body and went to
32:12 well how are you going to get his heart
32:16 I'm going to show him how dumb he is
32:23 and so up comes this plant and shelters
32:26 Joan he says oh I'm so thankful for this
32:28 plant plant dies Along Came the worm
32:31 that's the end of the plant
32:32 and Jonah is very unhappy about the
32:34 plant and God says you know Jonah you're
32:36 a fool
32:39 this plant came up in a night and it
32:40 perishes in a night here's a whole city
32:42 of people who are going to live forever
32:45 someplace Heaven or Hell
32:47 Jonah this plant you didn't have
32:48 anything to do with that plant it just
32:50 came and it went
32:52 and you were sorry when it left I made
32:54 these people over here I'm concerned
32:55 about them
32:57 there's just one plant there's a million people
32:58 people
33:01 the only issue here is your comfort over
33:04 here the issue is eternity now Jonah
33:06 what kind of a person are you do you
33:09 love creature comfort so much but don't
33:16 he had to teach Jonah
33:20 the lesson of God's pity God wants my heart
33:21 heart
33:23 give me thy heart
33:25 keep thy heart with all diligence for
33:28 out of it are the issues of life
33:31 if the Heart Is Right the will will be
33:33 right if the Heart Is Right the mind
33:36 will be right if the Heart Is Right the
33:41 and so the last lesson God had to teach Jonah
33:47 I want your heart
33:52 you'll love my people
33:55 I made these people
33:59 and so when you get right down to it
34:01 doing the will of God is not a matter of
34:08 it's a matter of loving it in the heart
34:12 Ephesians 6 6 doing the will of God from
34:14 the heart
34:16 and if I am faced with something I have
34:18 to do and I can't honestly say Lord I
34:21 love this I love you for this I've got
34:23 to stay on my face before God until he
34:25 has my heart
34:28 that's why when Jesus spoke to Peter
34:32 at that breakfast meeting
34:34 he didn't say Peter do you know my will
34:36 he didn't say Peter do you understand my
34:39 word he said Peter
34:45 so the most important question we have
34:48 to answer tonight is we are on trial not
34:52 Jonah his trial's over we're on trial do
34:54 we do the will of God from our heart do
34:57 we love the will of God no matter what
34:59 it may cost us no matter how people may
35:02 criticize us no matter what discomfort
35:05 we may encounter do we love the will of
35:08 God from our heart
35:10 that's the way Jesus lived [Music]
35:11 [Music]
35:14 I Delight to do thy will O Lord he said
35:17 thy law is within my heart
35:24 that's why there's no verse 12 here you
35:28 have to write verse 12. now some of you
35:30 would not agree with God you'd say well
35:33 Jonah did his job leave him alone oh no
35:35 verse 12
35:38 ought to read and Jonah said oh God
35:41 I Repent of my selfishness and my
35:44 immaturity forgive me now go with me
35:46 we're going back to Nineveh
35:49 and let's get the work done I think
35:51 that's the way it would read and I think
35:53 that's what Jonah did
35:55 I firmly believe in my own heart that
35:57 Jonah came to the place where he saw how
35:59 foolish he was
36:02 he confessed his sin and God gave him a
36:04 compassion of heart for the people to
36:07 whom he was ministering
36:10 the name Jonah means dove
36:15 Jonah didn't turn out to be a dub turned
36:20 when you think of a dove you think of
36:21 Peace he brought a storm
36:23 when you think of a dove you think of
36:27 loyalty and love he was angry and disobedient
36:33 he was grieving the Holy Spirit
36:39 well Jonah
36:42 we have interviewed you your credentials
36:43 are marvelous
36:46 your companions don't have such a good
36:49 testimony for you
36:51 but God's on your side Jonah
36:54 God's going to give you another chance
36:57 learn the lesson of God's pity
36:59 when you've learned that
37:02 when you can do the will of God from the
37:04 heart Jonah
37:07 God can really use you and you'll be blessed
37:08 blessed
37:15 gracious father
37:18 how many times we have
37:21 counterfeited obedience by outward
37:26 actions when our inward attitudes were
37:30 very very selfish and sinful
37:33 and for this we're sorry
37:35 we are not here tonight oh God to search
37:38 each other you must search our hearts
37:41 you must try us
37:43 let us know if there be some Wicked way
37:45 in US
37:48 father we like to excuse our sins
37:54 oh Lord help us to see tonight that our
37:57 theology is only as good as our living
38:00 that are believing is worthless without behaving
38:05 gracious father
38:10 Deliver Us from sins in good standing
38:13 sins of bitterness and criticism
38:15 sins of anger
38:19 sins of inner disposition that are ungodly
38:21 ungodly
38:23 and help us tonight to begin to learn
38:26 the lesson of your pity
38:30 and may the love of Christ constrain us
38:37 and may we do the will of God from the heart
38:42 not of necessity
38:46 not of compulsion
38:48 but out of love
38:50 I pray for the one who may be here who
38:53 is not saved May that one come and Trust Christ
38:55 Christ
38:57 I pray for that believer who is
39:00 rebelling May that one surrender do
39:01 something to all of us tonight [Music]
39:03 [Music]
39:06 so that will not be unloving
39:21 [Music]
39:45 [Laughter] [Music]
Chrome Extension