Jonah

These are sad words: 'But Jonah rose up'.  I close however with happy words, and thank God for these: 'But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea'.  'But Jonah...But the Lord'.  How kind He is, despite our rebellion, despite our determination to go the opposite direction.  He stays with us! Thank God we cannot run from Him.  'If I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there'  (Psa.  139 : 8).  He is omnipresent.  God has a way of following us.  'Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life(Psa. 23:6).  God is on your trail.  You may have been confirming yourself in your wayward ways.  But that wind you are experiencing, that  makes everybody else miserable; that is God warning you.  Thank Him for it. 'But Jonah... But the Lord'.

 The last thing I will mention now is that Jonah felt confirmation in his disobedience.  This always happen.  I use the term guardedly but use it in a way that I think will arrest your attention.  It is what Icall  providence of sin'.  Jonah determined to go to Tarshish and lo and behold he found a ship going to Tarshish and lo and behold he found a ship going to Tarshish!  He, no doubt, convinced himself that he was right.  It is like Eve in the garden.  After she succumbed to the doubt she looked at the fruit and she saw that it was good for food (Gen. 3:6).  I suspect that by the time Eve partook of the fruit she was convinced she was doing the right thing;  And so, Jonah, now making a 180 degree turn from God's commandment, going the other direction, found a ship and it gave him comfort. You see, when you are living in disobedience to God's commandment you will find many providences, as it were, to confirm you in that disobedien...

J   Jesus said that we must be like children (Matt.  18 :3).  Children take things at face value, and we as mature Christians must accept the simple promises of God's Word;  such things as "Preach the Gospel to every creature' (Mark 16:15) and "holiness without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12 :14).  It doesn't surprise me one bit that God is using Pentecostals today and passing up most of us.  It doesn't surprise me.  God honours those who believe in the simplicity of His word.  Perhaps the reason God is withholding some of the deep things of His word from the church is because of what it has done to some.  So, I suggest to you, Jonah was a victim of the folly of over-familiarity with holy things. Jonah was also a victim of the folly of ingratitude.  Jonah should have been thankful that God gave the commandment to go to Nineveh.  He should have been thankful that God saw the sins of Nineveh and was going to discover them, ...

  The greatest curse that can ever be brought to a nation is for God not to discover its sin.  The greatest curse of all is when He ignores sin.  Look what happened as described in Romans chapter one.  We are told that they refused to retain God  in their knowledge and God just 'gave them up.'  It didn't say God pushed them, it didn't say God clubbed them.  There were no flaming letters in the sky to say what God was about to do.  God just 'gave them over to a reprobate mind'; that is, a mind void of judgement, a mind that cannot grasp the truth.  The worst thing that can ever happen to you is for God to pass over your sin in that way.  Maybe you feel you are pretty clever because you have sinned grievously and you have not been caught.  Don't feel good about that for God has by passing over your sin indicated wrath for you, not mercy.  There are those who hide b' - ehind the doctrine of justification by faith.  This is th...

  I once knew some Dutch people very well.  And they told me that for a long time they sincerely believed that God spoke Dutch.  Since I have been in this country I have found out that some think God speaks English, with an English accent!  Jonah thought that God spoke Hebrew and Nineveh was hardly on Jonah's prayer list.  But God's prerogative to do what He wills with whom He wills the way He wills is something that we need to learn.  And after all, God can do it differently from the way He has done it in the past.  Peter was told by Jesus on one occasion how he was going to die.  You know what Peter's question was immediately:  What about John here? (John 21:21).  And it could be that God will want to do something in the world with a nation that you had not thought of, or with an individual you would not suspect.  And God may actually want to do something through you, and you ask:  Why me?  Why not this other person?...

  God then not only has a claim over every life, but now back to the question:  Why Nineveh?  Well, God has a claim over every nation.  Perhaps one of the most unexplored areas in theology is the matter of the relationship between God and nations.  God's purpose in the world iis much broader than merely dealing with individuals.  We are told in Isaiah 40 : 15 that the nations to Him are but a drop in the bucket.  And God is dealing with nations, not merely individuals - nations. There is that very interesting verse in Matthew 25 where we are told our Lord has come to set up His throne in His glory and the words are: 'before Him shall be gathered all nations' (Matt. 25:32).  God has a claim over every nation.  Now, it is quite right for you to believe ant God is interested in all the details of your life; your marriage, or whom you will marry, who you should keep company with.  Boys and girls, it is perfectly all right for you to ask God ...

  The book of Jonah shows us that God's prerogative is to do what He wants to do.  God has a work for you to do and perhaps when it first comes to you that this is His will your question is: Why me?  You'll be a wise person if you begin now to obey.  Don't get into a lot of trouble, arguing with God, rebelling against Him, because, I remind you, I warn you, God has a way of getting His way. You see, God has a claim over every man; You are bought with a price, your life is not your own (1 Cor. 6 : 19-20).  Oh, I know what it is to be situated in a very comfortable situation and then have God interrupt that state.  Do you know what I'm talking about?  To be comfortable; to be happy and then God interferes and you rebel.  We don't like the thought that we are not our own, but I remind you that you are not.  You are bought with a price and God has a claim over your life.  I don't care who you are.  So, you are not to argue.  But we...