Gods Mission

Pray with me. A God and father, we thank you. We thank you for you are our God and our father, and you are the father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And we thank you for the privilege of knowing you and being called your children. We thank you for the privilege of worship, for the privilege of gathering here in this place, on this yet another Lord's day. You have spared us, O God, once again, and we thank you. Grant by your grace that we might worship you in spirit and in truth, and that our worship might be pleasing in your sight. As we come to this moment where we worship you through the preaching and hearing of your word. We ask that it would be a fragrant aroma, that our eyes and our minds and our hearts might be open, that I mean, we might be willing and teachable. Grant that we might see Christ, that we might see him clearly. Grant that we might see ourselves clearly as You see us. Grant that we might see our need of our great Redeemer and whose name we pray. Amen. There are always difficulties when we speak with people of Christ. In fact, it's those difficulties that keep many of us from ever speaking to people of Christ, especially people whom we know don't know the Lord. We fear rejection, we don't like confrontation, whatever the case. But there are some instances that make it even more difficult. One of the instances that makes it more difficult we're prepared for, and that is the incidence of the people who don't realize that they need the Gospel. I found that that's more common around here, people who just assume that they're Christian. It's amazing. I came from a place where that was the case, and I thought maybe maybe maybe things would be better here because you talk to Americans about the Gospel, about Jesus, about Christianity, and most Americans just sort of sit there and look at you, like, yeah, of course, of course I'm a Christian. I'm an American, Amen, God, the Bible, Jesus America, right, And it's difficult. I thought it would be less difficult here, But it's not overwhelming majority of Zambians because yes, of course I'm a Christian. Ah, you asked me something like that. And it's difficult to talk to people in that setting when they believe that they are Christians wrong. Though they may be but there is another group. There's another group that's difficult to speak to about the things of God and about redemption, and that is that group of people that believes that they have done something or that they are someone who could never be accepted by God. Those people who believe that, either because of the people group they belong to or because of the particular sin that they've committed, that somehow the grace of God, the love of God just can't reach that far, and they can sometimes be the most difficult people to witness to. Those individuals will hear, because oftentimes what will happen is those individuals will hear the gospel, and they may even respond to the gospel, but then shortly thereafter they go right back to the place where they no longer believe that this can possibly be true. And they constantly go back and forth between believing and embracing the grace of God and then believing and embracing the idea that that grace just can't reach them, believe it or not. One of the purposes of the Book of Jonah is to speak not only to that person, but to those of us who knowingly or unknowingly help make that person feel that way, the Book of Jonah speaks to that outsider and says that there is no one beyond God's reach, And the Book of Jonah speaks to us who are insiders and says there is no one beyond God's reach. This is a reminder on both sides of the issue. So if you hear this morning and you believe that somehow, because of who you are or because of what you've done, that the grace of God just can't get there, know that it can. Amen. And if you're here today and there are certain individuals that you look down on because of who they are or because of what they've done, if you've got a special list of sins and people who commit those sins on your special list you have deemed unqualified for salvation. This is for you, This is for you, This is for me, Amen, this is for all of us, because whether we admit it or not, we all have special lists of sins that bother us more than others, or perhaps even special lists of people bother us more than others. So why did Jonah not want to go to Nineveh? That's a question that we often don't answer. I mean, we know the story right as we continue our series on one big story where we're looking at these passages of scripture because they're familiar to us and we know the story. The kids were asking me at home, Daddy, what what do you push you doing this week? And when the minute I said Jonah, everybody, oh Jonah. Yeah, Jonah had the big fish and just swallowing him and taking him into Dad's awesome because we know that story, or at least we assume we do. But then you ask someone why did Jonah not want to go to Nineveh? Well, because because Ninava was a scary place. No, that's not the answer. If you want to know the answer, go to Jonah chapter four. We don't have time to read the entire book of Jonah, but we'll read chapter four because it is enlightening in this regard. Oftentimes, when we tell the story of Jonah, we we end in chapter three. You ask somebody what's the story of Jonah, and they'll say, well, God told Jonah to go to NINEV. NINEV didn't want you know, Jonah didn't want to go to Nineva. So he got on the ship going in the other direction. Right storm comes, he's thrown overboard, eaten by a big fish, vomited out on the shores. He preaches in Nineveh, and Ninevah saved. That's not the end of the story four verse one, but it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry, and he prayed to the Lord and said, Oh Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarsus. He's answering the question why did Jonah flee. He's answering it for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore, now, oh Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. And the Lord said, do you do well to be angry? Jonah go to Nineveh? No? Why not? Because you're a merciful God. And if I go to Nineveh, I'm gonna preach and You're gonna save people. That's the answer to the question. Jonah didn't want to go to Ninevah because he knew that God would save them, and he didn't want God to save them. Verse five. Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city, and made a booth for himself there under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now, the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die, and said, it is better for me to die than to live. So I'm familiar that's what he just said earlier. I'd rather die. God said to Jonah, do you do well to be angry for the plant? And he said, yes, I do well to be angry enough to die. And the Lord said, you pity the plant for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle. And interestingly enough, that's where the Book of Jonah ends. The question isn't even answered. It's a rhetorical question. We know the answer to the question. We know the answer is that Jonah should know better. We know the answer is if you have pity for the plant that came up, certainly you should have pity for a city. Again, a one hundred and twenty thousand who are children don't know the right hand from the left. This is a great city, one of the largest cities of its day, and yet Jonah is displeased. In order to understand this, we need to know a little bit about geopolitics in the ancient Near East and a little bit about Assyria. Let me give you the highlights. Egypt, Assyria, and Israel were in the middle of a pitched battle for dominance there in the ancient Near East, and Israel had more than its share of difficulties with Assyria. The power of Assyria would wax and wane, and the power of Egypt would wax and wane. The power of Israel would wax and wane, and there were times of peace, and there were times of war, but everybody knew that if Assyria had the power, it would dominate the region, which would include Israel. The Northern Kingdom stood in Greek jeopardy because of Assyria, and in fact would eventually fall to Assyria. Listen to this, Tiglef Palazar took Damascus, abolished the monarchy, and transformed the territory into an Assyrian province. This is the capital of the Northern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom and the Transjordan regions of Israel were detached and made into Assyrian provinces. The upper strata of the populations of these areas were deported and replaced by immigrants from other parts of the Assyrian Empire. When Hoshea, the last king of Israel, withheld payment of true from Assyria at the insistence of Egypt, he was imprisoned Samaria, his capital, was stormed in seven twenty two BC after a three years siege, and became the seat of government of the Assyrian province of Samaria. A further deportation took place. According to Assyrian records, twenty seven two hundred and ninety people were taken captive and foreign settlers were sent to take their place. You see, Israel is divided into two kingdoms after Solomon. The Northern Kingdom had ten tribes, the Southern Kingdom only two. The Northern Kingdom would fall in seven twenty two, and those tribes would basically be lost. How did they fall? They fell to the Assyrian Empire. It was prophesied beforehand. Jonah knew of the prophecy, and now God says, go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and preach to them. That's why Jonah ran in the other direction, because he did not want to see God show mercy to their adversaries, to their enemies that everyone knew would conquer them if they ever had the opportunity or if they ever got the power again. And in fact, eventually that's exactly what happened to the Northern Kingdom. It is conquered by Assyria. Now, if we move ahead to the New Testament, Jesus is speaking to the Samaritan woman. You're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan woman. You asked me for a drink. Jews would go around Samaria so as to not interact with Samarians. They didn't even want the shadow of a Samarian of a Samaritan to fall upon them. Why why were the Samaritans so hated by the Jews because of this, Because of this northern kingdom dispossessed Assyrians brought into Samarian and these are the people became the Samaritans. So so wrap your head around this idea that Jonah is being rebellious. Absolutely, but his rebellion is based in his fear and his understanding of what would eventually come from Assyria. And it did, and yet he was wrong to run away, and God was merciful to save. Before we talk about the significance of all this, let's just look at the story first. The story of Jonah has a number of themes, and it's very It's short and memorable if you take the time to read it. One of the themes is a rise versus go down if you look there in the first part of Jonah. Look in Jonah chapter one, and we'll read some of this. Jonah chapter one. Now, the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amati, saying, arise, go to nineve that great city and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me. But Jonah rose right a rise. He rose to flee from Tarsus, from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa. A rise, go to Nineveh. Nope, he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarsus. So he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshus, away from the presence of the Lord. A rise versus go down. And not only here Chapter one, verse six. When the storm comes, they say, a rise, call out to your God. Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that we may not perish. Not only did he go down to Joppa. Not only did he go down into the boat, but when he was in the boat, he went down to the lower part of the boat. And then when he's down in the lower part of the boat, he lays down to go to sleep, which is why they have to call him to arise. When the storm comes. Not only does he go down into the boat, but he also goes down into the water. And after he goes down into the boat and then down into the water, he goes down into a fish. Amen. Literally Chapter two, verses five and six. The water's closed in over me to take my life. The deep surrounded me. Weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. Yet you brought up my life from the pit. Many commentators argue that actually Jonah didn't just go down to Joppa so that he could go down to Tarsus and then get down into a ship and go down to the bottom of the ship to lay down in the ship and then be thrown overboard to go down into the water, and then eventually go down into a fish. According to this passage, more than likely he went down to death. There's two possibilities. Possibility number one, Miraculously God preserved Jonah in the belly of a fish for three days. Possibility number two, Miraculously the fish swallowed Jonah, he died, and then three days later God brought him back to life. By the way, if we go over to the New Testament Matthew, chapter twelve, verses thirty nine to forty one, this is one of those unique stories in the Old Testament that's familiar part of the one Big Story, but it's also repeated for us or referred to directly for us in the New Testament. Matthew chapter twelve, verses thirty nine to forty one, we'll refer to this again, but we'll read it now. This is Jesus speaking. He answered them, an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here. Jesus says, the only sign that you will be given is the sign of Jonah. For three days, Jonah was in the belly of the fish. For three days, I'll be in the belly of the earth. But for those three days Jesus was dead, and then he was brought back to life. It is quite feasible that for those three days Jonah was dead and then he was brought back to life, so that the sign of Jonah that's being referred to here is Christ being brought back from the dead. More about that later. Besides this idea of arise and go down. There's also the idea of greatness in the story. Nineveh is referred to in the first chapter as that great city. Then there was a great wind, and then a great tempest. Then there was exceeding or great fear. There was a great fish, and then another reference to the great city. Then there's the shade that brings exceeding joy, the disappearance of the shade brings exceeding or great anguish. And finally the last great is a reference to the great city of Nineveh. Again, there's another theme in the story of Jonah. It is the theme of God's sovereignty and his providence, and this is important for us. The Lord called Jonah to go. Jonah didn't go. The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea. The Lord brought a great tempest. The Lord appointed a great fish. The Lord spoke to the fish and told the fish exactly where to vomit Jonah up on the shore. The Lord saved Nineveh. Chapter three, verse ten. When God saw that what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. Chapter four, verse six. The Lord appointed the plant chapter four, verse seven. The Lord appointed the worm Chapter four, verse eight. The Lord appointed the scorching east wind, again and again and again. A reference to the sovereignty of God. Everything that happens in the Book of Jonah happens because God appointed it. God is not passive in the Book of Jonah. God is not passive in the mission of salvation. So if that's the background that we're looking at, what is the significant of this according to the One Big Story. Let me give you a couple of things here. Number one, the Book of Jonah reminds us that God's plan is greater than just Israel. God's plan was greater than just Israel. We've already alluded to the fact that even in the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis chapter twelve, God makes it clear that through you, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. God's plan from the beginning was never to just save Israel. God's plan from the beginning was to save a people from every tribe and kindred and tongue and nation for his own glory. This reminds us remember both sides of that equation. There are some who believe that because we are outsiders and don't belong to the right group, that God's mercy cannot reach us. If you were in Nineveh, you would have been wrong. And you're here today, and if that's what you believe, you are just as wrong. There are others of us who are on the other side of the equation, and we say we are insiders, and there are other people who are outsiders. God can save us, but he can't save them. Why because you've done something that is so wicked that God can't save you, or you're part of a group of people that are so wicked that God can't save you. But how does the book of Jonah start? Go back again to Jonah chapter one, Because here's the myth that we hold onto. The myth that we hold onto is that God extends salvation to those who somehow prove worthy of his salvation. God extends salvation to those who do the right thing or don't do the wrong thing. God extends salvation to those who are part of the right group and not part of the wrong group. Chapter one and verse two arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me. What notice what he didn't say, Jonah, go to Nineveh because there's repentance there. Jonah, go to Nineveh because they're doing better. Now, Jonah, go to Nineveh because I see a glimmer of hope there. Go to ninevh because they want somebody to know. Go to Ninevah. They're evil is great. Their wickedness has come up before me. In other words, they have distinguished them in wickedness. What a thing to be distinguished for? Amen? Can you imagine how wicked you'd have to be for God to say to one of his prophets, Hey, you need to go to this place because their wickedness has come to my attention, all the wickedness in the world. And God says, the wickedness of Assyria has come to my attention. So go there. So you who believe that whatever it is that you have done is so exceedingly wicked that God's mercy cannot reach you. You are wrong. You are wrong. You are wrong. There is no sin so great the blood of Jesus cannot cover it. Amen, you are wrong. Ah yeah, but but Pastory, you don't know what I've done. I don't have to know what you've done. All I have to know is the blood of Jesus is greater. Yeah, yeah, pastor, but I uh uh stop, don't even finish your statement, because whatever is about to come out of your mouth, the blood of Jesus is greater, It's greater, It's greater. Chrace, grace, God's grace, grace that can pardon and cleanse within grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all my sin in all of it, then all of it? Do you believe that today? Do you believe that God's grace is greater than all your sin? Do you believe that today? Or are you sitting there wallowing in self pity believing that Jesus died on the cross, ascended to the right hand of the Father, having said to tell us die it is finished, paid in full, and then out of all the people in the history of the world, you were able to do something to make the Son of God. Say, Ah, didn't quite cover that. Is that what you really believe? The blood of Jesus is greater, it is greater, it is greater. Ah, But you don't know. I used to be this. I used to be that I made a profession of faith, and now I've fallen into sin. I did this, I did whatever. It is the blood of Jesus is greater by far, by far. And your problem is twofold. Number one, you think too much of your sin, and number two you think too little of Christ. It is not just that someone died for sin. It is that Christ died for sin, the just, for the unjust, in order that he might bring us to God. It is that Christ, the spotless, sinless Lamb of God, died for sin. It is that Christ, the second person of the Trinity, died for sin. It is that God, wrapped in flesh, laid down and died for sin, God, God himself. The blood that he shed, the life that he lived, the death that he died, was greater by far than anything you have ever done, by far. And for those of you who are Christians, is there someone out there to whom you are not willing to say that? Is there some sin that someone committed about what you are not willing to say that? Is there someone who sinned against you, someone who hurt you, someone who harmed you, and you're not willing to say how the blood of Jesus can cover that? Is there is there someone in your own life that you are not willing to forgive for what they have done to you, Because essentially what you're saying to them is this, Ah, God may be willing to forgive you, and the blood of Jesus Christ may satisfy the wrath of God, be it I, but I require more. God can forgive you for what you did to me, because the death of Christ, the blood of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ was enough. It was enough for the God of the universe. But my justice is higher than the justice of the God of the universe. My wrath is greater than the wrath of the God of the universe. And the price that I require is higher. So the blood of Jesus is not enough for me to forgive you for what you did to me. God help you if that's what you're saying, and if you're unwilling to forgive another, that's exactly what you're saying. The Book of Jonah begs to differ. There is no one beyond his reach. There is no one beyond saving, no one. Nor do future actions invalidate this. So later on, when Hezekiah is dealing with them in the South, this doesn't invalidate what God did. Ah, God, you were wrong. You were wrong to save those people because a generation later, look what happens. God is never wrong to do anything. If you can't say amen, you ought to say out. God is never wrong to do anything. Whatever God does is right. Amen. Whatever God does is right. Ah, God, you're wrong. You were wrong to go and save the Assyrian capital, because look at what Assyria did later. God knew that. God knew that, and he wasn't wrong. He wasn't wrong because here's a news flash. God saved you and not Everything you've done since your salvation has been a shining example of goodness and righteousness. Amen, somebody, huh, God was not wrong. Secondly, Christ is greater than Jonah. Christ is greater than Jonah. Let's look at that text again in Matthew chapter twelve, verse thirty nine to forty one. But he answered them, an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. But by the way, this we just say, we have to pause here. We have to pause here because somebody needs this this morning. The book of Jonah ends badly. Can we agree that it ends badly for Jonah? Here is Jonah. In chapter one, Jonah go to Nineveh. He rebels against God and runs in the other direction. God brings a storm. He doesn't repent. When the storm comes, Jonah doesn't fall on his face and say Lord, I'm sorry, I'll go the other No, he says, throw me into the sea. Perhaps even dies in the belly of a whale, vomited up on the shore. And he goes and preaches, and all we know of his message is that he went forty days and you're done. And man, there was no mercy, there was no plea, there was no He didn't want to be there. Forty days. God's gonna wipe you out. Forty days, God's gonna judge you. That's it. He just went to and front of the city and he preached. They repented and sackcloth and ash us. He goes up on a hill so he can watch the city. He sits there and he says, God, I want to die. I want to die. I'd rather be dead. Now. God has just magnified his mercy and his grace, and Jonah, at the sight of it, says, kill me. The Book of Jonah doesn't end well for Jonah, Amen and for most of us. Here's the way we would assume that God would treat us. If you and I are Jonah and our book ends this badly, you would think that if our name was ever mentioned again, it would only be to condemn us. Amen, Jesus mentions Jonah without one hint of condemnation. Hear me, you who have fallen and failed, hear me, you who've had to repent, Hear me, you who've experienced disgrace. Hear me, you whose life perhaps has been a massive disappointment, even after your conversion. Hear me, hear me, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. God is gracious, God is merciful. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here. How is Christ greater than Jonah. Well, let's get the obvious out of the way. Jonah was a mere man. Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. Amen, But how else was Christ greater than Jonah. God says to Jonah, leave Israel and go to Nineveh, and Jonah is not willing to do it. The Father says to the son, leave heaven and go to Earth, and the Son gladly accepted. Amen. Jonah was a sinner saved by God's grace, who was unwilling to extend that same grace to other sinners who were no worse than he. Jesus is the spotless, sinless Lamb of God, perfect without sin, and he laid down his life and died for those who were unworthy. Jonah spent three days in the belly of the whale, and for all intents and purposes, was dead. I believe he literally died in the belly of that fish. And Jonah was brought back to life. But guess what, Jonah's dead now. Amen. Jonah's dead now he had to die again. Thanks for that, Jesus rose from the grave, never to taste death again. Amen. Jonah preached to a people who would never see the fullness of God's redeeming grace in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus preached redemption and he is the fullness of God's redeeming grace. Jonah preached a message, and he saw one city in one great nation come to repentance. Christ laid down his life and redeemed for the Father of people from every tribe, kindred tongue, and nation. Jonah preached and saw a glorious fruit, and immediately thereafter fell into depression and sin. Jesus preached and received for it the cross. And yet he ascended to the right hand of God. Jonah preached, and he went and sat down to watch in anger and anguish what was happening to those who had repented. Jesus came, preached redemption to us, ascended to the right hand of the Father, so that he could forever make intercession for us. We could go on. Jesus is greater than Jonah. And yet Jonah teaches us something about this one big story. Jonah teaches us that God's mission reaches beyond just Israel, that God's mission reaches beyond the worst of sinners. Jesus teaches us that. But he also teaches us why the reason that Nineveh could be forgiven was because the blood of Christ was sufficient. The reason that you and I can be forgiven is because the blood of Christ is sufficient. The reason that the message could reach beyond Israel to their neighbor Assyria is because the blood of Christ is sufficient. And the reason that this message can now reach to the uttermost ends of the earth is because the blood of Christ is sufficient. And the reason that you and I are still here is because our work is not yet done. And Christ does not yet had the fullness of the reward for which he died. But he will he will. Because God does not leave salvation to chance. He didn't leave it to chance. In Nineveh, he appointed a man. That man rebelled not enough to change God's plan. The man ran away into a ship. He appointed a wind, he appointed a storm, he appointed the waves. He appointed a fish because that wasn't enough. And eventually that man that he appointed to preach, after three days and three nights in the belly of a fish, got up and did exactly what God appointed him to do. Ninevah. Repented because God appointed it to happen, because God does not leave salvation to chance. Amen, you have trusted in Christ. It is because God appointed you to do so. And as we go out and preach the gospel, people respond in faith, because God has appointed the Gospel to do that work, and he has appointed them to come. So we in where we began. If you are here and you find yourself on the side of the equation that says because of who I am or because of what I've done, certainly I am beyond God's reach, you are wrong. And if you find yourself on the other side of the equation not willing or wanting for certain people to hear and respond to the Gospel, may you find yourself rebuked today. Amen, the love of God is greater far. Let's pray. God, we thank you for this reminder. In Jonah, Lord, we even rejoice in the way that you've taken us from Daniel, a man about whom no sin is recorded, and encouraged us through his life. So now Jonah, a man whose sin screams from every chapter of his book, and yet you encourage us there as well. Father, we rejoice in your redemption. We rejoice in your grace, We rejoice in your mercy, and we rejoice in your mission that is greater far than anything we can image. We rejoice in the fact that you saved us in spite of, not because of who we are and what we've done, and we rejoice and the fact that you have called us to be a part of your mission to take your gospel to every creature, grant by your grace that we might do so faithfully, willingly and passionately. And that we might do so because it is our desire that Christ might indeed have the fullness of the reward for which he died. This we pray in his name, Amen.