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Benjamin Franklin said, “Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one.” Many times, our attempts to vent our emotions turn into anger outbursts, transforming small issues into big ones. Every anger outburst has its reasons, but it is important to examine whether these are reasonable or not. Today, we will be concluding our study of the Book of Jonah with the title: `Do You Have a Right to Be Angry?’ This is a question the Lord directed at Jonah twice (v.4 & v.9). We must remember, we are Jonah – often, we get angry at the Lord, at the church, at our church leaders, at our brothers and sisters. Today, let us allow God to ask us the same question – do you have a right to be angry? These 11 verses contain two dialogues between God and man, the first dialogue is found in verses 1-4, and the second in verses 8-11. Let us examine them today:

I. The First Dialogue between God and Man 4:1-4

1. Jonah’s Displeasure and Anger

Jonah was very displeased with what had happened – forty days after he pronounced judgment on Nineveh, the Lord did not destroy the city whose sins reached to the skies. Jonah became very angry. He became angry at God. How could he be so bold, wasn’t he afraid of God’s judgment? Let’s not forget that only awhile back, when he hovered near death inside the belly of the big fish, he pleaded with God to deliver him; why is he now so bold as to fume at God?

Have you ever flared up in anger against your parents? Maybe you don’t dare do so, especially if your parents are very stern. But in certain situations, you might have. What are those situations? When you feel that your parents are totally unreasonable, when they wrong you, when they refuse to listen to reason; in such situations, the strong-willed ones will rise up and rebel. Jonah was such a man. He felt God was unreasonable for not doing what he said he would do.

That nothing happened after forty days brought on two situations: 1. Jonah lost face. Jonah went and proclaimed loudly in Nineveh, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” However, after forty days, nothing happened. What will people say? `It was a lie. Jonah was making it all up. Jonah is a false prophet.’ It was very humiliating for the Jonah. The Book of Jonah is included among the Minor Prophets, and because of that, we assume Jonah was not a significant prophet. Actually, Jonah was a great prophet, a famous one. 2Kings 14:25 “He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.”

Jonah had once made a prophecy that Jeroboam will restore the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of Arabah and it came true. It must surely have been big news in those days, everyone must have known the prophet Jonah. Jonah was not an unknown prophet. Jonah was a famous prophet. But now he came and declared Nineveh’s destruction, but it didn’t happen. He really was humiliated. 2. God lost face. God declared it but didn’t carry through. What kind of a God was he, was he a false god? Was he a powerless god? Jonah felt he had every reason to be angry! Don’t we all react just like him? When we feel the church is wrong, our leaders are wrong, others are wrong, we get angry. Everyone who displays anger feels he has reasons to be angry.

Jonah was a man who possessed an enormous sense of justice. He saw how wicked the Ninevites were – the Assyrian army was feared everywhere it went, they killed the men, raped the women, they didn’t spare the old, the young or the infants. The people longed for God’s justice. God’s destruction of Nineveh was just what Jonah had been waiting for.

However, when God sent Jonah to proclaim judgment on Nineveh, Jonah fled to Tarshish, why? Jonah 4:2 “He prayed to the LORD, “Isn’t this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” Jonah knew the Lord well, he knew the Lord was a gracious and merciful God. He knew that if the Ninevites repent, the Lord will relent from sending calamity on them. So, he refused to go to Nineveh. He didn’t want to see these violent and wicked people given an opportunity to find mercy, because for him, they should be punished.

He told the Lord: `It is better for me to die than to live. I am not willing to see wicked people find mercy, I can’t take it. Take my life away!’ Before we judge Jonah, let us first ask ourselves, “Don’t I also give a lot of fine reasons when I am mad at my church, my parents, my friends?” I am not saying that our arguments are wrong, but none of us can truly know what is in the heart of another man. Sometimes, we can perceive incorrectly yet be totally unaware of it. Paul said do not judge. Do not judge means we must not think we are God and that we know everything! Surrender the problem to God because only He knows the whole story, let Him make the right judgment! v

2. God’s Response

I felt God was really gracious with Jonah, He simply replied, “Do you have a right to be angry?” In fact, I believe the Lord said it gently and not angrily, just as Jonah described Him – gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Jonah knew the Lord was extending mercy to the Ninevites, what he did not realize was how the Lord was also showing him mercy. Just like Jonah, often, we see the faults of other people and not our own, we are aware only of how others need God’s mercy but not our own need for His mercy.

God told Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry?” and Jonah didn’t reply. When you are angry, and your father asks you, “Do you have a right to be angry?” and you refuse to answer him, you are in for a spanking. But God was very gracious, He didn’t say anything. Actually, Jonah wasn’t the only person who had shown God his displeasure, Cain was another one. When God didn’t look with favour on his offering, he got angry at God. He showed a downcast face, God also asked him, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?” We should be grateful that our God is gracious and merciful, if not, we will all be goners!

However, let me ask you, why didn’t God get angry at Jonah? Isn’t God a just God? Confucius once said, “A teacher must use teaching methods as are best adapted to the students.” A teacher must instruct his students according to each person’s ability and personality. God was dealing with Jonah according to his need and personality. Jonah had a strong personality. If a stern approach was used, he would only have resisted further. If your son is strong-willed, you cannot change him with scolding and spankings, you have to use other methods.

If God had used harsh methods with Jonah, the prophet would not have acknowledged his error. The Lord used another method to change him. There is nothing wrong with being strong-minded; actually, people who are strong-willed are potential leaders. However not all strong-minded people can become good leaders. If a person who has a strong personality will not learn to submit to authority, then he will only be rejected by God. Strong-minded people are potential leaders but they will have to go through the Lord’s training.

3. God and Man’s Second Dialogue 4:8-11

This was God’s training for Jonah. Let us first understand the background of this conversation. After Jonah became angry with God, he went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Do you know what Jonah was waiting for, or what he was looking for? Jonah was indeed a fascinating character. He understood human nature very well. Since the Lord didn’t destroy Nineveh after forty days; if you were a Ninevite, what would you do?

I believe there are two probabilities:
1. You will thank the Lord for his mercy. `God did not destroy us, let us continue and keep away from sin.’
2. You will start to think, `We had been tricked, there is no disaster at all, it is untrue. Forty days without food, water, gambling, and fun, let us indulge ourselves now!’

Jonah was thinking that since the Ninevites had been very wicked, most probably 70% them would choose the second possibility. He was thinking they had been used to wickedness for a long time, they only repented because they were afraid of the judgment; now that the judgment didn’t come upon them, not even a thunder, now they will return to their sins. That is why Jonah didn’t leave, he sat there because he wanted to see what will happen to them, how God will deal with them.

God had a good sense of humor. He didn’t say anything to Jonah yet provided a leafy plant, made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort from the heat of the sun. Jonah was very pleased about it. But the next day God provided a worm which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” This is the second time he asked to die.

In the Book of Jonah, God provided many things – in 1:4 God sent a violent storm, 1:17 God provided a big fish, 4:6 God provided a leafy plant, 4:7 God provided a worm, 4:8 God provided a scorching east wind. This shows us all God’s creation submit to the Lord’s order, man is the only creature who dare to defy God. May the Lord have mercy on us for we are really a rebellious lot! When the Lord was still on earth, he had once sighed and said, “How long will I put up with you!” May the Lord have mercy on us, may he help us to be his obedient children! It was in this situation that God and Jonah had their second conversation:

1. Jonah asked to die

Jonah said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” If your wife sees you flirting with another woman and she gets mad, you ask your wife, “Is it right for you to be angry?” and she answers, “Yes, it is right, so what!” Jonah’s reply meant exactly that.

Let me ask you, was Jonah angry because the vine died? Was he really concerned about the vine? No, let us not be deceived by Jonah. He wasn’t concerned about the vine, he was thinking of himself. Self-centered – that was Jonah; and that is also what we are. `My point of view is the most important. The people in Nineveh deserve to die. No matter what God says I will not listen, because in my heart they deserve to die, they do not deserve God’s mercy, why did God spare them?’ Pardon me, but we are all `Jonahs’. We believe that what we consider right is always right, and what we think is wrong, is wrong.

Let me tell you, I have learned a lot in this area. As a pastor, sometimes I have wrongly assumed that I was right and others were wrong. In my 23 years in ministry, the Lord has shown me that what I thought was right was not necessarily right, and what I thought was wrong was not at all wrong. Many times, we are self-centered. May the Holy Spirit remind us, illumine our minds so that we will not be self-centered.

2. God’s Response

Twice, Jonah got angry at God. If you were God, how would you deal with him? You would most probably punish him severely. However, not only did the Lord not punish him, the Lord in fact counselled and encouraged him. “10 But the LORD said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left — and also many animals?” Jonah was very strong-willed.

I mentioned that strong-willed people are potential leaders, however unless they undergo training, they can never be used of God. This is why God had to leave Moses in the desert for 40 years. Moses was also a very strong-willed man. He was talented and gifted, but when he attempted to do God’s work, the first thing he did was kill a man. God cannot use such kind of a leader, so the Lord left him in the desert for forty years. After that time, he became the humblest man on earth.

A strong-willed man can become a leader for God’s use, but he can also become a most defiant man. The difference is whether he has undergone training and nurture. If you have such a child at home, a stubborn one, who questions and challenges you on everything, don’t be angry; such children have much potential. In school, teachers are afraid of such challenging students, and so, they give them C,D,E for conduct. Teachers who do that destroy potentials. Einstein asked too many questions when he was a child, and his teacher concluded he had learning problems, they asked his parents to transfer him to a special school. But his mother refused to listen to the teacher and taught him herself; if not for her, there would not have been a great Einstein.

If you have a stubborn child at home, you must not spank him all the time, he is a precious stone needing patient polishing. Train, nurture and support him so that his brilliance will shine forth. Jonah was a precious stone, God didn’t deal with him harshly, He coached him. God told him, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left — and also many animals?”

The Book of Jonah ends with this question for us to ponder. Did Jonah repent, did he apologize to God? I believe Jonah repented, because:

1. He stopped arguing with God. If Jonah still didn’t agree, I believe he would have told the Lord: `So what. I have every right to be angry.’ However he no longer replied. When a person keeps quiet, it could mean he is angry, but it could also mean he has acknowledged his own mistake.

2. He wrote down his story. The most important evidence is the existence of the Book of Jonah. Jonah was the author of this book. He wrote down the story of his disobedience. If he still didn’t agree, he wouldn’t have written the book of Jonah. Writing it down is a sign of his testimony, a testimony of repentance. He is admitting his error, he was no longer mad at God. He was testifying to the world.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one.” Do we have still good reasons to be angry at God? When God wants us to share the gospel to the world, do we have any reason to say no?

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Although chapter three of the Book of Jonah contains only ten verses, it is filled with several amazing incidents, thus, I entitled this chapter `Amazing Grace’. Let us reflect on God’s amazing grace upon us and our church as we celebrate the church’s 24th anniversary today. In these 10 verses, we see three amazing things:

1. an amazing second chance
2. an amazing news of judgment
3. an amazing regret:

I. Amazing Second Chance 3:1-3

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.” The first time the Lord told Jonah to go to Nineveh, he didn’t go, instead he fled to Tarshish; as a result the Lord used a big storm and a large fish to bring him back. Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, that is 72 hours. What happens to a man who gets stuck in the belly of a fish for 72 hours?

Let us hear the true story of a man who was swallowed by a whale: In February of 1891, a ship by the name of ‘Star of the East’ was hunting whales along the vicinity of the Faulkland islands. One day, they saw a great whale and immediately pursued it. In the process, two sailors were thrown overboard. One of the sailors drowned, while another by the name of James went missing. Later the whale was caught and when it was cut open, they discovered James lying inside the fish belly. They immediately tried to resuscitate him. James revived, but it took him two weeks to recover consciousness and also his voice. However, as a result of having been exposed to the gastric juices inside the fish’ stomach for 48 hours, the skin on his whole body turned white and never recovered its original appearance.

May I remind you that Jonah was inside the fish belly 72 hours, when the fish vomited him out, he didn’t suffer any injury, his appearance didn’t change, that is a miracle! Under normal circumstances, Jonah should have died after 72 hours in the fish belly. Jonah should have been a dead man, but God brought him back to life.

When Jesus was on earth, and the Pharisees asked him to perform a miracle, Jesus answered them: “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And then Jesus immediately added, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Jesus was dead as he lay buried in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. He rose from the dead on the third day. This tells us that Jonah could not have been alive in the fish belly after three days and three nights. That Jonah was alive is a great miracle.

I will explain it more plainly: Jonah, this disobedient prophet should have been dead early on in the ocean, he should have been a dead man. But the Lord restored him to life and gave him another chance. This is an amazing second chance.

I remembered Ephesians 2:1 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins” and then Ephesians 2:4-5 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. it is by grace you have been saved.” All of us were dead in our sins, only the love of God made us alive in Christ.

Such is the Lord’s amazing second chance for us too! Today, if there is anyone who has not yet trusted the Lord, I would like to welcome you; but pardon me for saying this: we are in fact welcoming dead people into our midst. I am not cursing you, in my heart I sincerely welcome you but if you will not accept Jesus’ salvation, you are truly a dead man. In the past, I was also a dead man, a living dead. But the Lord gave me an amazing chance, I grabbed hold of the opportunity and now I am alive. God is also giving you his grace, a chance; if you would only accept it, then you can truly come alive. Have you taken hold of this amazing second chance?

O Church! What about us? God gave Jonah a ministry opportunity, but he rejected it. Praise the Lord that when God gave him a second chance he accepted it; hence, we have the `Book of Jonah’ today. Today is the church’s 24th anniversary. In the past 24 years, the Lord had given us many opportunities to serve him. Some brothers and sisters had taken hold of the opportunities, but some had not. Today, God wants to give us a second chance. We must do as Jonah did and grab hold of it; for if not, we will have no story to tell, no testimony to share.

II. Amazing News of Judgment 3:4-9

Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” This was a very large city which requires three days to journey through, but Jonah went only on a day’s journey. He only did one-third of the job. He proclaimed, ““Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

Pondering upon it, I realized Jonah seemingly told them only half of the story. And this is easy to understand. For example, before you became a Christian, you visit a fortune-teller. The fortune-teller tells you that he foresees danger ahead for you this year, and then he continues to tell you many frightening things that will happen to you. You will surely ask him ways and means you can prevent such misfortunes from happening to you. Actually, he is waiting for you to ask him that very question, so he can tell you the ways to prevent the misfortunes – that you must do this, do that…eventually, you will be very grateful and pay a generous amount for his service, just as he planned. If the Lord had only wanted to judge them, He could have simply sent fire down on them; there was no need for Jonah. But the Lord wanted Jonah to announce more than just his judgment. He wanted Jonah to warn them, ““Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown- unless you repent and turn from your evil ways.” Jonah only travelled a third of the journey and announced only half of the news. But what is amazing is how this incomplete piece of news brought the whole nation to repentance.

Imagine a foreigner announcing aloud in China’s Tiananmen Square: `Forty days more and Beijing will be overthrown.’ There are three possible outcomes: 1. People will ignore him and say he is crazy. 2. The police will arrest him and say he is causing trouble. 3. People will beat him up. Jonah was an Israelite. Israel and Nineveh were enemies. An American who shouts in Iraq `forty days more and Iraq will be overthrown’ yet doesn’t get beat up would be a strange thing indeed. The Lord said that Nineveh’s wickedness had come up before him, and so we see from this that the Ninevites weren’t exactly a nice group of people; thus, Jonah’s loud proclamation of their destruction and not getting beaten was strange indeed.

1. The Ninevites believed God, they declared a fast, the greatest to the least wore sackcloth. According to the account in chapter four, there were a hundred and twenty thousand people who couldn’t tell their right hand from their left in city of Nineveh; usually, the phrase would mean little children. If so, this city must have had a population of approximately 500,000. I dare not say that all 500,000 of the inhabitants repented, but at least 70-80% must have repented. They are better than us Christians, they immediately repented upon hearing Jonah’s message, and they even declared a fast and put on sackcloth. As for us, Christians, many times we fail to respond to the messages we hear. When they heard the news that day, they immediately responded and obeyed the Lord, they repented, from the greatest to the least put on sackcloth. The greatest refer to the city’s rich and powerful, the least refer to those who were of the lower class; even servants and slaves repented.

2. The King Repented. When the news reached the king’s ears, he descended from his throne, removed his royal robes, covered himself in sackcloth and sat down in the dust. In the Book of Jonah, there are two kinds of descent: one is Jonah’s descent. Jonah went from bad to worse. He refused to obey the Lord. The Bible says: He went down to Joppa, then he went down below the ship’s deck; in the end, he was thrown down into the bottom of the sea. This is called a deterioration. The second descent is the Ninevite king’s stepping down from his throne. He stepped down from his throne and sat in the dust. This is called repentance. The Ninevite king was not a worshipper of the true God, he was an idol-worshipper. The Assyrian Empire worshipped idols, but this king stepped down from his throne; meaning he relinquished his position as king. This is too amazing. If our president proclaims a forty-day fast, put on sackcloth and repents of his sins, would you consider that amazing? That is impossible you say; yes, it is indeed impossible, but this impossible thing happened in history. Our God was, is and will be God forever, there is nothing too difficult for Him. God changed the heart of the Ninevite king, can’t God change the heart of our president, and of all the presidents in the world?

3. The King Decreed Repentance for the Whole Nation. The people were not allowed to eat anything, the whole nation was to fast, even the animals were not allowed to taste anything, not even water. The people and even the animals were to be covered in sackcloth. Imagine, all the dogs, the cats, the oxen, the goats wearing sackcloths. It was like the whole nation was holding a memorial service. Such a thing has never happened before. We have seen many countries observe New Year and Christmas Day by festivities, parades, fireworks; but we have never seen a whole nation having a memorial service. The king issued a decree asking everyone to call urgently on God and give up their evil ways. They acknowledged the evil things they had done, they urgently called on God.

In the Book of Jonah, we see at least three groups of people implored upon God:

The first batch was the men on the ship. When they were about to perish, they urgently called on God; as a result they experienced God’s miraculous deliverance.
The second batch was Jonah himself. Helpless inside the fish belly, Jonah called on the Lord and the Lord answered him.
The third batch was the people in the whole city of Nineveh. I can’t say for sure that every man in the city prayed, but I am sure a large percentage of them prayed. The people who prayed kept the whole city from being destroyed.

Verse 9, “Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” The word ‘may/maybe’ is very significant. It appears twice in the Book of Jonah. The first time the word ‘maybe’ appeared is in Jonah chapter one, when the captain told Jonah, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” The second time is when the king of Nineveh said, “Who knows? God may yet relent…” What does maybe mean? It means he is not sure whether it will help or not. The king of Nineveh meant: ‘We have sinned greatly, we are a people who deserve to perish, let us repent, and hope God will have mercy on us and not destroy us.’

In the Book of Jonah, the Gentiles seemingly showed more fear and awareness of God than Jonah did! Jonah felt they deserved death because they were very wicked. The Ninevites themselves felt they really deserved death, but Jonah seemed to have forgotten that he also deserved death. Today, we do not have time to discuss the question of predestination, why God saves one and not another, and whether God is unfair or not. But I tell you, salvation is not about fairness.

If you want to drive a car, you have to use a car key, you cannot use a pencil to start the car’s engine. With the wrong tool, the outcome will be wrong. Salvation cannot be discussed on the premise of fairness. Salvation is about grace. If you want to use fairness to discuss salvation, you will only have to come to one conclusion and that is we all deserve to die. We all deserve to die, hell is our eternal portion, no one is exempted, because we are all sinners; our minds are deceitful, our actions are deceitful; even when we do good, our motives aren’t 100% pure. But for us who deserve to perish in hell, the Lord saved some of us. This is not an issue of fairness, but of grace. The king of Nineveh said, “Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” The king of Nineveh said it right, who knows…God may yet relent. He understood God’s heart. How amazing are God’s works in the hearts of men, no wonder we call it amazing grace.

III. Amazing Regret 3:10

Maybe we can also call it God’s amazing regret. Verse 10 “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.” God relented – this statement seems disturbing, yet it is at the same time wonderful. Genesis 6:5 says “The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” Then verse 7, “So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground for I regret that I have made them.” God regretted and as a result the flood came and destroyed all living creatures. God’s regret is frightening. Yet, God’s regret is also wonderful, because of it, the 500,000 people in the city of Nineveh were saved.

Let us first understand what God’s regret means. 1Samuel 15 records God instructing Saul to kill all the Amalekites; but Saul did not follow God’s command, and so God rejected Saul as king. Verse 28 Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors to one better than you.” Verse 29 “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”

God never regrets something he has done, because he can never make a mistake. He will never say: `Oh no! I was wrong, I regret this.’ But in the same chapter in verse 35, it says, “Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.” This verse says the Lord regretted, so does God ever regret or not?

In literature, there is a form of writing called personification. It is a form of writing that attributes human qualities to objects or abstract notions, such as saying the stones speak or shed tears, in order to help readers understand a certain concept. God is spirit, but the Bible also says God’s eyes see men’s hearts, his ears hear the cries of men. God doesn’t have physical eyes or ears, this is only to help us understand God’s heart. God can never regret because he is in sovereign control of everything, but God’s heart grieves or rejoices when men change. The authors of the Bible (as inspired by the Holy Spirit) used the word regret to help us understand God’s heart. Saul was the first king of Israel, not only was he handsome, he also had good character, was humble, submissive and capable. He had a bright future ahead. But, after he became king, his heart changed gradually; God no longer was his Lord, his throne became his god. The Lord was grieved upon seeing Saul’s change of heart and the Bible says God regretted that he made him king.

When the Lord saw how the Ninevites turned from their evil ways, he was very pleased. God is not a God who delights to see the wicked perish. The Bible says, “he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened”, meaning their repentance pleased God and he postponed the disaster then. But if ever they return to their evil ways, God’s judgment will come upon them. God never regrets his determined will.

Do you know that in the Bible there is a book that records the destruction of Nineveh? A hundred years after Jonah, this city returned to its wicked ways, and God sent the prophet Nahum to preach his judgment, but that generation did not repent, and so the city was destroyed. No one can change God’s established will, God never regrets his determined will, but man’s repentance can change the time frame for the fulfillment of God’s will. The Lord observed the city of Nineveh for 40 days and saw their turn-around, and so the Lord postponed his judgment and did not destroy them.

This present generation is very much like Noah’s generation, men are eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. This generation is also like that of Nineveh’s, full of violence and evil ways. This generation is headed towards destruction, but does God care about it? How God must long to see this generation repent, for His grace and mercy to come upon it. God commands His Church to go and spread the news of repentance, baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. O Church! God can never regret. This world will one day be destroyed by fire, but before that day comes, we must save more souls while we can. This is the reason for the continued existence of the Church!

Today as we celebrate the church’s 24th anniversary, may we not forget the reason we exist, may we not forget the vision of the church. We exist to fulfil the Great Commandment and the Great Commission for the glory of God. May we continue to be a church that fulfils the Great Commandment and Great Commission. How many people have you led to the Lord?

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Last time, we studied chapter one of the Book of Jonah on the topic “Are You Quitting, Too?” We concluded the message with three `but’s’.

The first `but’ is Jonah’s refusal to obey – v.3 `But Jonah ran away from the Lord.’
The second `but’ is Jonah’s downward spiral – v.5 `but Jonah had gone below deck.’
The third `but’ is God’s grace – v. 17 `But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah’ because The Lord didn’t want to see Jonah slide any further downhill!

When Jonah was in the fish belly, he offered up a prayer. This prayer is unique in that it was made inside a fish belly; if one can pray inside a fish belly, then there isn’t a place we cannot pray. God, who answers prayers, is omnipresent; He hears our prayer no matter where are; however, the problem is our failure to pray.

As I reflected on this chapter, I realized that mankind is depraved while God is a redeeming God. But when depraved man and the God of redemption enter into a relationship, depraved man becomes saved man. This is the Gospel, this is the good news we ought to tell the world. However, how can depraved man and the God of redemption enter into a relationship?

I. Acknowledge man’s rebellion and accept God’s discipline

The sick needs a doctor, sinners need a savior. But if we do not know that we are sick, we will not go see a doctor. If we do not realize that we are sinners, neither will we realize our need of a savior. Humans are depraved, there is no goodness in us. Genesis 8 records that after Noah came out of the ark, the first thing he did was to offer a sacrifice. This pleased the Lord- Genesis 8:21 “The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.”

The Bible tells us that the human heart is evil from childhood. Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” The Bible is a history book on the depravity of man and God’s deliverance. Jonah’s name means ‘dove.’ but he was a dove which defied his master. His master wanted him to go to Nineveh, he went to Tarshish instead. He told the Lord, “I quit!” As we read the Book of Jonah, we will see that in defying the Lord , Jonah took a path that spiralled downwards. In Jonah 1:3, he went down to Joppa, then down below the ship’s deck, after that he was thrown into the sea, then swallowed by a big fish and brought to the depths of the sea, Jonah spiralled downwards.

Jonah prayed: “In my distress I called to the Lord.” What brought on Jonah’s distress? It was a result of his rebellion against God. Had he obeyed the Lord and gone to Nineveh, no violent storm would have occurred. Of course, not every adversity occurs due to rebellion against God. When we meet adversities, we must examine ourselves; if the adversities we face are a result of our having defied God’s will, then we must repent. There is a main theme in the Book of Jonah and it is one of repentance. Repentance occurs in every chapter.

In Chapter 1, all those on the ship repented.
In Chapter 2, Jonah made a superficial repentance.
In Chapter 3, the whole city of Nineveh repented.
In Chapter 4, Jonah genuinely repented.

Repentance occurred as a result of God’s discipline. In Jonah 2:3, Jonah said: “You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas…” Jonah did not say the sailors threw him into the sea, he knew the Lord used men to throw him into the sea, this was not man’s doing, it was God’s. This came from the hand of God.

Hebrews 12:5-6 “And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” The author of the Book of Hebrews reminds us we must be thankful for God’s discipline, for it shows that when we turn away from God, he doesn’t leave us, instead he disciplines us. The Bible tells us two important attitudes we must have in facing discipline from the Lord: 1. Do not make light his discipline 2. Do not be discouraged.

1. Do not make light his discipline

When the Lord raised a violent storm to discipline Jonah, Jonah made light of God’s discipline. He went down the ship’s deck and slept. Later on, he told the sailors, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea and it will become calm.” What he meant was that even if he dies he wasn’t willing to repent. Later on, the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow him up. He was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. When did Jonah pray? He was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, on which day did he pray? I believe that it was not on the first neither the second day, most probably it was on the third day. After he was swallowed by the big fish, he remained unrepentant, unwilling to pray, he was adamant. But God was not willing that he should die. Jonah made light of the Lord’s discipline, as a result, he suffered for 2 days inside the fish belly. Jonah was a very strong-willed prophet. May the Lord help us, may we not make light of the Lord’s discipline, lest we suffer more tribulations!

2. Do not be discouraged

Nonetheless, Jonah had a good trait – he didn’t give in to discouragement. Verse 4 “I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’” Verse 7 “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.” Jonah knew the Lord is righteous and loving. He meant that although you (the Lord) have pursued me, yet I will look again toward your holy temple, my prayer rose to you and reached your holy presence. We will be rewarded if we do not lose heart. A pastor shared this testimony: He asked the famous preacher Rev. Paul Shen to teach him how to preach. The pastor was so happy when Rev. Shen agreed and told him, “Meet me here by 7am tomorrow.” The next day he arrived at Rev. Shen’s office at 7:15a.m.; he was 15 minutes late. Rev. was very angry and said: “Go home, come back tomorrow!” He was so embarrassed that he arrived the next day at exactly 7a.m., but Rev. Shen was already in his office, and told the pastor angrily: “Go home, you obviously aren’t ready to learn. Where do you find a teacher waiting for his student? Come back tomorrow!” If you were in his shoes, won’t you be discouraged? The pastor said he arrived at 6:45 the next morning, but Rev. Shen was there before him again. He got scolded once more. The next day he arrived at 6a.m. and waited for Rev. Shen. This time, the reverend was very pleased and said, “You really have the heart to learn.” Thus, this pastor became a famous preacher in Taiwan. We must not make light of the Lord’s discipline, neither be discouraged because of it.

II. Cry Out to the Lord

For depraved man to have a relationship with God, first, he must recognize and acknowledge that he is depraved and need God’s discipline. Second, he must cry out to the Lord, because the Lord answers the cry of a sinner. Verse 2 says “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.” Verse 7 “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.” Jonah cried out to the Lord from inside the fish belly. He was in the deepest place in the ocean but what is amazing is as he opened his mouth to pray, his cry reached the Lord’s temple and came before God’s presence, and the Lord answered his prayers. From Jonah, we learn two things about prayer: 1. We must call out to the Lord in prayer 2. We must call out to the Lord in faith.

1. We must call out to the Lord in prayer

I am not saying that we need to cry and shout aloud for fear that God will not hear us. We need to cry out to God in prayer. We know that even before we ask, the Lord knows our needs, yet if we do not ask, he will not answer. James 4:2 says “You do not have because you do not ask God.” Why does God require us to ask? I came across a piece of news recently: Because of China’s rapidly growing economy, many Chinese have become increasingly busy. They have money but they don’t have time. An elderly couple who was quite well-to-do had grown children who used to visit them while newly married; but after a time, with families of their own and work keeping them busy, they no longer went home to see the parents. The parents’ requests for more visits were met with reasons of how busy they were earning for their living. Hence, the parents thought up a scheme which made their children come home more often. Every time they came home, the elderly parents would give them a thousand RMB each; when they bring the grandchildren, each grandchild would also be given a thousand RMB; as a result, everyone came home to visit more often. Of course, it sounds a little odd, but it illustrates how much the parents love their children, they long to see the children and grandchildren they love.

God loves us and longs for us to be in touch with Him, thus He set this principle – `if you don’t ask, then I don’t give ’. His purpose is so that we will commune more with him. Jonah was in the fish belly 3 days and 3 nights (72 hours). Bible interpreters believe this fish was a whale. A whale can swim 55- 60 kilometers per hour, it means it may have swam 4000 kilometers in those 72 hours. It could have travelled to various places during those 72 hours. The reason it took 72 hours was Jonah’s own refusal to pray. After he was swallowed by the big fish, Jonah didn’t pray, as a result, the Lord kept him in the fish belly until he opened his mouth and called out in prayer; then, the Lord begun his work of deliverance.

2. Cry out to the Lord in faith

James 1:6-7 “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” We must pray in faith, but we must distinguish the difference between faith and self-confidence. Self-confidence is trust in one’s self. There is nothing wrong with having self-confidence. Some people have no confidence in themselves at all; they always feel that they can’t and as a result they really are unable to accomplish anything. Christians, we must have self-confidence, but more so, we must have confidence in the Lord. This means we acknowledge that we can’t but our God can.

The best example can be found in Numbers 11. For almost two years the Israelites had been eating manna, longing to taste some meat, they complained and grumbled. In modern-day context, the Israelites were demonstrating, lifting placards that say `we want meat!’. The Lord told Moses: “Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month.” Upon hearing this, Moses quickly questioned its possibility. He reasoned that there were six hundred thousand men on foot, not including the old people, women and the young ones; there were at least 2 million people, how much meat would that require? Let’s just say that if twenty people can consume one cow in a day, they would need 100,000 cows a day, in a month they would be consuming 3,000,000 cows. No wonder Moses questioned the idea. But the Lord told Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”

The Lord meant do you think I am old and powerless? Faith is unwavering trust in God’s power. Nothing is impossible with the Lord. With prayer, it is not a question of possibility, but of willingness. If the Lord is willing, then it will be done. When the man who had leprosy approached Jesus, he told the Lord, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” He didn’t say if the Lord can, because he knew it wasn’t a matter of possibility, but of willingness. This is having faith in God, no wonder the Lord Jesus told him, “I am willing, be clean!” Inside the fish belly, Jonah prayed and believed God’s power to deliver him; it was just that initially, he was angry and wasn’t willing to pray, but when he opened his mouth to pray, he prayed with faith in God, as a result he was delivered.

III. Know that man’s dead-end is the beginning of God’s deliverance

For depraved man to enter into a relationship with God, first, he must recognize his own depravity and acknowledge his need of God’s discipline. Second, he must call out to the Lord. Thirdly, he must know that man’s dead-end is the beginning of God’s deliverance. Do you still remember the first blessing in the Sermon on the Mount? “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” In “The Message Bible” by Eugene Peterson, the verse is translated “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope.” God’s work begins when man reaches the end of his rope. How can a cup be filled unless it is emptied? Unless a man is humble how can he be taught? Unless a man is sick, he wouldn’t go see a doctor. Unless a man realizes he is sinful, he will not find the need for a savior. We often say: `Pray, pray’.

What is true prayer? Hallesby said in his prayer book: “Helplessness is at the heart of prayer. Prayer and helplessness cannot be separated. Only a man who truly feels helpless can offer up true and authentic prayers.” In the belly of the fish, Jonah realized he had come to the end of his rope and so he cried out in prayer to the Lord, v.8 “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.” v.9 “But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, `Salvation comes from the LORD.’” Verse 10 tells us the Lord heard his prayers: “And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” In verse 9, Jonah told the Lord he will make good what he had vowed. What was Jonah’s vow? I personally believe that he must have told the Lord – `O Lord, if you do thus, then I will do this. O Lord, if you save me, I will serve you all my life.’

Genesis 28 records a man, Jacob, making his vow. Because Jacob deceived his father and brother, he had to flee his own home. When he reached Luz, the Lord appeared to him in a dream. When Jacob awoke, he made a vow to the Lord, Genesis 28:20-22 “ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

In this vow, he asked the Lord for two things: 1. He asked the Lord to be with him. He wanted God to go with him, to provide him food and clothing, he was asking for material provisions. 2. He asked the Lord to protect him so that he will return safely to his father’s household. He asked for the blessing and preservation of his life. He told the Lord, `If you give me material blessings and blessings in life, I will do three things: 1. You will be my God 2. I will build you a temple 3. I will give you a tenth of all I have.’ Have you noticed that Jacob’s vow was very self-centered? In the Chinese Bible, the word `I/me’ appears 11 times in Jacob’s prayer; in the English Bible, the word appears ten times. At this point, Jacob was still very self-centered; yet the Lord, being a most gracious and merciful God, answered his prayer. After 20 years, Jacob had cattle, sheep flocks, servants, and his whole household returned to Canaan safely. The Lord was with him all those 20 years, protecting and blessing him.

When we are at the end of our rope, we must call on the Lord, because man’s dead-end is the beginning of God’s deliverance. I am not against you making vows to the Lord, but remember, if you do then you must make good your vows. Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 says “When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfil it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfil your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfil it.” God is faithful, he dislikes falsehood. Let me share a testimony about one of our deacons. This deacon had back trouble that needed surgery. If the surgery was unsuccessful, she would be unable to walk all her life. If she didn’t go through surgery, she will have to lie in bed all her life. Not having much choice, she decided to have the operation.

On the eve of the operation, I visited her and asked if she had faith. She answered, “Fifty-percent.” I said, “Fifty-percent isn’t good, let us pray.” After we prayed, I asked her again if she now has faith, she said 80%. I said, “Eighty-percent isn’t enough, we must have 100% faith in God.” She replied, “If the Lord lets me walk again, I will spend my life doing his work.” I said that is good and we prayed again. Today, our sister is up and walking, she has really made good her vow to the Lord. A few years back, when our church held the 40 Days Movement, she opened her home to conduct a small group, and many were led to the Lord through this small group. Later on, it became a fellowship, and the fellowship has led many people to the Lord. We must make good the vows we made, then the Lord’s grace will abundantly be upon us.

For depraved man to enter into a relationship with God, first, he must acknowledge that he is a sinner and accept God’s discipline; second, he must call upon the Lord; thirdly, he must realize that man’s dead-end is the beginning of God’s deliverance. Do not be discouraged, continue and do the work of the Lord!

The post Together We Evangelize (3) – Depraved Man and God of Deliverance (Jonah 2) appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

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We are all familiar with Jonah’s story. Are you quitting, too? Today, I would like us to reflect on this thought as we study Jonah chapter one together. In Jonah 1, the phrase ‘flee from the Lord’ appeared three times. The prophet Jonah said he was running away from the Lord. The prophet knew God, he knew that God was omnipresent, surely he knows that there is no place he can go to hide from the Lord? It was not that Jonah didn’t know no one could hide from the Lord, but what he meant was he was quitting, he refused to carry out his assigned mission.

In this chapter of 17 verses, four conversations took place: in verses 1-3, is the conversation between God and Jonah, v.6 is the conversation between the captain and Jonah, vv.8-12, the conversation between the men and Jonah and vv.14-15 is the conversation between the men and God. Many precious truths and lessons can be found in these four conversations:

I. Conversation between God and Jonah V.1-3

The word of the Lord came to Jonah: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” This verse discloses two characteristics of God: 1. The Lord is a God of absolute sovereignty 2. He is a God of grace and mercy. He gives men second chances.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah, “Go to the great city of Nineveh…” This was not a request, it was a command. Our God never requests men to do things for him, He commands because He is God. If we really acknowledge God as the true God, then when the word of the Lord comes to us, we must have only one response: ‘Yes, Lord.’

One time, a Bible study group in the US was studying the story about Abraham offering Isaac to the Lord, and a non-believer came to join them. During the study, the question `If you were Abraham, what would you do?’ was asked. Some said: ‘It is too difficult! It is so unreasonable!’ Finally, the non-believer was asked and his reply was, ‘This is the first time I have joined this Bible study class and this is also going to be my last, because I am very disappointed with all of you. If the Lord you believe in is who you really says he is, that he is the creator of heaven and earth and of all things, the Lord of mankind, and he wants me to offer up my son to him, I can only say `yes, Lord’, how can I say no? It seems that the God this Bible study class believes in is not the one I am looking for. Thus, I am not coming back.” After finishing, he left.

The Lord told Jonah to go to Nineveh, but Jonah didn’t say `yes, Lord.’ With his actions, he told the Lord `no’. Verse 3 “But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.” Jonah was quitting. Actually, all of us are like Jonah. The Lord says, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” Although we do not tell the Lord an outright `no’, we do so with our actions.

Since you came to know the Lord, how many people have you shared the Gospel to? Aren’t we saying no to the Lord with our actions? The Lord told Jonah, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” This verse also shows us that the Lord is a God who gives second chances. Since Nineveh’s wickedness has come up before the Lord, the easiest way to deal with it would have been to treat it like Sodom and Gomorrah, send fire down from heaven and destroy it.

Why did He have to send Jonah to preach to it? The Lord wanted to give them a second chance. The Lord is not willing that wicked men perish. The Lord wants to give fallen humans many chances, have you grasped this truth by now? Not only does the Lord want to give the non-believers second chances, He gives his own children second chances. The Book of Jonah records how the Lord gave Jonah a second chance. Jonah 3:1-2 “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” The Lord gives us second chances, Jonah understood it then. How about us? This year, let us grab hold of the second chance the Lord gives and share the gospel to our friends. The Great Commissions says: “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

II. Conversation between the Captain and Jonah V. 6

Verse 4 records that the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. Even the very experienced sailors were afraid and each cried to his own god. The saying goes: `In poverty, men cry out to heaven. In pain, they cry out to their mothers.’ This is but natural.

However, Jonah did not pray and call on the Lord. He went down below the deck and fell into a deep sleep. Jonah was really stubborn. Have you noticed that after running away from the Lord, the path he took was a downward spiral? First, he took a ship, then went below the ship deck to sleep at a time of danger; lastly, he got thrown into the depths of the sea. This is called going from bad to worse. When a man departs from the Lord, he can only spiral downwards.

True faith will translate into a godly life, it will cause us to be careful. Some Christians, even pastors, become headline news after falling into sin. As a result, non-believers attack us, saying `Christians are no different.’ Actually they are wrong. Let me ask you: How many pastors or Christians commit grave and newsworthy sins? Not many, right? That is why one who falls becomes headline news. If such things happen daily, that is no longer news. A true believer will endeavour to live a godly life. Yes, we have our weaknesses and we do fail, but only when we wander away from the Lord. Our lives will only go from bad to worse when we drift away from the Lord.

The captain of the ship saw that everyone was crying out to his own god, but only Jonah wasn’t and he was in fact sleeping. So, the captain told him, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish.” I believe Jonah still didn’t go and pray, that is why the wind didn’t stop. The men were all crying out to their gods, however, these gods could not save them; only the true and living God, the Creator of heaven and earth could save them.

Sometimes, we see some devout people sincerely worshipping, but they worship the wrong god. Our responsibility is to tell them: `The true God created man, while men created false gods. We must not worship gods made by human hands; we must worship the Creator of heaven and earth, the true God.’ They do not know, let us tell them!

III. Conversation between the Men and Jonah 8-12

Verse 7 tells us the sailors sensed that this was a strange storm, so they casted lots to find out who among them was responsible for the disaster. And the lot fell on Jonah. They asked Jonah six questions:
1. Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us?
2. What do you do?
3. Where do you come from?
4. What is your country?
5. From what people are you?
6. What have you done?

After Jonah answered all their questions, these idol-worshipping pagans came to know the Creator of heaven and earth. Verse 16 “At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.” God’s works are truly marvelous. Jonah was not willing to preach the gospel to the pagans, but he led pagans in the ship to a knowledge of the true God. How did Jonah lead them to God?

1. He told them his identity and his faith in verse 9 – He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.” In other words, he introduced them to the Creator of heaven and earth. Jonah told them two things: 1. His identity – I am a Hebrew, 2. His faith – I worship the one and only true God.

The Bible says this terrified them, for they were in the middle of a violent storm and Jonah tells them my God is the God who creates storms. Brothers and sisters, have we told others our identity and our faith? You are a Christian, you believe in the one and only true God, do your friends and relatives know that? Does your business partner, colleagues know? Christian, we must be the best doctor, the best lawyer, the best businessmen, the best worker, the best employer, but we must tell the person beside us – `I am a Christian, I believe in the one and only true God, I believe in Christ Jesus’ – this is the best testimony.

2. He told them his failure in verse 10 – “This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so).” Jonah told them about how he was fleeing from the Lord, how the Lord wanted him to go to Nineveh and in refusing, he instead took the ship to Tarshish; he told them that the Lord sent the great wind to impede him.

This was truly a testimony of failure. However, this testimony caused all those in the ship to come to know how fearful God is, and they became terrified. `Jonah, the God you worship is so terrifying!’ And so they asked him, “What have you done?” meaning, “Why did you do that! You can’t do that!” Sometimes, we are disgraceful because those who worship idols show more reverence for God than we do. Sometimes, we conduct ourselves too casually. As a result, our non-Christian friends ask us `How come you do that even though you are a Christian?’ Our God is the one and only true God. We must be careful with our life and attitude, because people tend to infer through our lives the kind of God we worship. The men asked Jonah, “What have you done?” Praise God, Jonah openly acknowledged his failure and this resulted to the whole ship coming to God. God is truly amazing!

3. He assumed the responsibility which was his in v.12 – “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” Jonah was a true Christian. He was willing to assume the consequence of his actions. He told them to throw him into the sea to calm it down for he knew he was the cause of the storm. Jonah demonstrated a willingness to bear the consequences of his actions.

Consider well this statement: Religion is escape from God while faith is a witness to God. Man invented religion. Religion entails a lot of rituals and ceremonies. Even though one doesn’t have any relationship with God, he may simply observe the rituals and ceremonies. In other words, it is like saying: `I have done all that you required, now just bless me and we’re okey; do not come looking for me.’

So religion is fleeing from God. But faith is different. There is an intimate relation between faith and the God one believes in. We must testify of the God we believe in through our faith. Our faith and our moral life are closely related, our faith determines what kind of person we become. There is a strange phenomenon in Hong Kong. In the police departments, they worship an idol called Guan Gong. But the Hong Kong Mafia also worships this same Guan Gong. Just imagine, as they prepare their criminal activities, they ask from the Guan Gong to protect them and let their operations go smoothly, if granted success, they promise Guan Gong a gold pig. But on the other hand, the police also says to Guan Gong – “Today w will go catch criminals, please help us succeed and keep us safe. After the successful operation, we will give you a gold pig.” If you were Guan Gong, which one will you help? True faith bears one’s own responsibility and has a standard of morality. Jonah’s ability to take up his own responsibility and the cost of his commitment shook the men in the ship. Such faith showed that the God he believes in is real.

IV. Conversation between the Men and God 14, 16

In verse 17, we find that these pagan sailors prayed at least three times. First, in verse 5, they each cried out to his own god. But obviously the prayers weren’t effective for they did not call on the true God. Then we see them praying a second time, and a third. The second prayer is directed towards the true God of heaven and earth. The second prayer helps us see once more God’s glory and greatness:

1. The first time they prayed to the true God v. 14 – Then they cried to the Lord, “O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O Lord have done as you pleased.” They asked Jonah what they should do and Jonah told them to throw him into the sea, but they were not willing; so they did their best to row back to land. Obviously they valued Jonah’s life, but they had no choice, so they prayed to the Lord and told Him: “You are a God who do as you please.” They understood that the great God does whatever he wants to do, no one can stop him, because he does as he pleases. As humans, we can only obey him.

This group came to know God just then, yet they had an accurate knowledge of God. Sometimes, as old believers, we talk of church traditions, what we can gain, etc. such that our faith becomes more and more man-centered than God-centered- `what do I think , what do I feel’ and we have forgotten what God wants of us. May we humbly learn from the new Christians, God is a God who does as he pleases, we can only obey his will.

2. The 2nd Time They Prayed to God v.16 – “ At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.” v. 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. Those men saw, and from their hearts arose great fear for the Lord, they worshipped the Lord. From the mouth of Jonah, they heard of the Lord, now their own eyes saw God’s wondrous works, so they immediately responded – they offered a sacrifice to the Lord; and then they made vows to him.

Sacrifice and vows showed they worship Him and made a covenant with Him. We do not know what vows they made to the Lord. I believe they made have said: `From this day on, I will not worship other gods. I will only sacrifice to You, worship only You, because you are the one and only true God.’ When I read Jonah chapter one, I gave it a title: “Not perish but have eternal life.” Why? V.6 The captain told Jonah to “get up and pray, so that God may take notice of us so that we will not perish.” In verse 16, they were saved; in fact, they were saved eternally because they came to know the true God, so they shall not perish but have eternal life.

Lastly, I want to use three `but’s’ to end this message. There are three but’s in Jonah chapter 1: v.3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord; v.5 but Jonah had gone below deck v.17 But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. The 1st `but’ is Jonah’s disobedience. The second `but’ is Jonah’s downward spiral, the 3rd `but’ is God’s grace. God did not want Jonah to continue spiraling downwards. How about you, are you quitting too? Do not forget that God’s grace is abundant to help us, stop spiraling downwards, return now!

The post Together We Evangelize (2) – Are You Quitting, too? (Jonah 1) appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

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The Church has already determined its direction for the next five years with the following themes: In 2011, it is Together We Evangelize; 2012 – Together We Worship, 2013 – Together We Fellowship, 2014 – Together We Equip, 2015 – Together We Serve.

Let us begin with evangelism. This is our direction, our vision. The Church’s theme for this year is “The Gospel for Loved Ones, Grace for Everyone”. Our goal is that everyone determines to pray for, witness to, and lead three close friends or relatives to the Lord.

However there is one important matter we must remember and that is when we bring them into the Church, for at least a period of one year, we must show concern and take care of them. In this one year, we will become their baby-sitter. Sharing the gospel is very important but the follow-up work is just as important.

This is not simply my own opinion. The Lord Jesus commanded this of his disciples. Today, let us reflect on the meaning of the Great Commission.

Verse 18 is the authority of the Great Commission – ‘Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”‘ Verse 19 -20a is the substance of the Great Commission – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”; while verse 20b is the promise of the Great Commission – “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The Great Commission can be seen as a three-layered sandwich. In the middle is the substance of the Great Commission, on top is the authority, and below is the promise. Let us have this three-layered sandwich.

I. The Authority of the Great Commission

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” The Great Commission is an impossible mission. When Jesus died, the disciples were scattered and when Jesus rose from the dead, there were no more than 120 believers. They had the 11 disciples for their leaders, who were mostly fishermen from Galilee. This group of people had little or no education, inadequate know-how, status, identity, and power, yet Jesus wanted them to go and make disciples of all nations.

All nations refer to the nations in the whole world, not only Israel, but also China, England, America, Philippines. The disciples didn’t even know one word of English, or Chinese, how could they disciple the nations?

If we were to simply consider Israel, these 120 people couldn’t even tackle the religious leaders of that time. The scribes and the Pharisees had enough power to subdue them. In fact, verse 17 tells us, at that time, some of them still doubted, “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”

We Chinese have a term for such a group – it translates to ragtag. Without any training, without a goal, without vision, a ragtag group like that would not be able to spread the Gospel and disciple the nations at all. Thus, the Great Commission is an impossible mission. But the Lord Jesus told them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore go…” How could the disciples go? It is because the Lord Jesus has already given them the authority for fulfilling the Great Commission. What kind of authority was this?

Acts 1:8 clearly says “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The Holy Spirit gave the authority in heaven and earth to the disciples, so that they will have power to fulfil the Great Commission. O Church, may we see this truth clearly – without the Lord’s authority and power, on our own strength, the Great Commission will never be accomplished.

However, as long as we rely on the Lord’s authority and power, the Great Commission can be done. Two hundred years ago, a Christian missionary, Robert Morrison, sailed to China to preach the Gospel there. The captain of the ship he was sailing in laughed at him and said, “Do you think you can transform China, this nation with a 4000 year-old history? They had been worshipping idols for 4000 years, will they accept the Gospel?” Morrison replied “I can’t, but God can.” It has been 200 years since Morrison stepped onto China, now there are about 70 million believers inside the nation. Indeed, man cannot, but God can.

II. Substance of the Great Commission

Verse 19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Verse 20 “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” This is the substance of the Great Commission. Simply said, it is to make all the nations become the Lord’s disciples. To fulfill this Great Commission , the Church must do three things: 1. Go 2. Baptize 3. Teach.

1. Go – the first thing we must do is to go. The church cannot forget the outside world and simply dwell within its own walls. A church that doesn’t share the Gospel is a dead church; it will become a quarreling church, because when we subsist only within our own walls, we will find fault with one another and attack each other.

A healthy church is definitely extroverted or focused outward. What is an extroverted church? Some people are very introverted, they do not talk to others, they live in their own world. This is called autism. The church must not be a spiritually autistic church, living only within its own four walls. A book entitled “Church Without Walls” tells us we must not be content with the existing situation, not limit the church, the church must break out of its four walls, go out and seek lost souls.

Matthew 18 speaks of the parable of the lost sheep. A man had 100 sheep, and he lost one. Jesus said, “…will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?” We may think how greedy; he is not content with his 99, he had to go find that missing one. Just like when we have 100 coins, and lost one while in the washroom. Would you put your hands into the toilet water to retrieve that one coin? That would seem miserly, doesn’t it? But Jesus concluded the parable by saying, “Your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” Brothers and sisters, this is not the question of greed or contentment, this is a matter of love. The Heavenly Father loves every lost soul just like a father loves each child. Jesus said “Go…”
2. Baptize – Some Christians think they know their Bible very well, and they say that baptism is not very important, that we are not saved by going through baptism, we are saved by believing in the Lord Jesus. Actually they are only partially correct. We are saved by believing in the Lord Jesus, that is true. But baptism is very important because it is not only a declaration, it is a testimony of our being made separate from the world. As long as you refuse to be baptized, you are still unable to separate yourself from the world. Jesus told his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. When they come to the Lord, we must baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When a person comes to believing faith in the Lord Jesus, we must encourage him to get baptized.

3. Teach – The final goal of the Great Commission is to make the nations disciples of the Lord Jesus, that is, to become the Lord’s students. Jesus said, “…and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”. Do not be a wishy-washy Christian, we must know the Truth and obey the Truth.

In a Jewish Sabbatical School, a teacher of the Bible asked his student, “Freddie, who broke down the wall of Jericho?” Freddie became very afraid, and replied, “Don’t ask me, I did not do it!” That afternoon, this teacher made a call to Freddie’s mom to share the funny incident, “Guess what Freddie said when I asked him who broke down the wall of Jericho? He said don’t ask me, I didn’t do it.” Freddie’s mom said, “If Freddie said he didn’t do it, then he definitely didn’t do it.”

This teacher then told the rabbi who was in charge of the synagogue, of course the rabbi laughed hard. When evening came, in their meeting, the rabbi told the board members saying, “Let me tell you a story. Our teacher asked Freddie who broke down the wall of Jericho, and he replied that he didn’t do it. So his teacher told his mother, and his mother replied that if Freddie said he didn’t do it, he definitely didn’t do it.” Before the rabbi finished, the chairman of the board said, “Okey, okey, it’s not that big a problem. Just repair the wall of Jericho and send the bill to me. Let us continue our meeting.” If you do not find this funny, then it means you do not know your Bible too. May we know the Truth.

III. Promise of the Great Commission

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” In the original text, the word ‘behold’ appears before this statement – “Behold, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This promise is very precious in two ways:

1. Promise of the Lord’s Presence — When the Bible says the Lord is with us, this does not only mean he is our companion, it also means his power is with us. This is the truth found in chapter one of the Book of Joshua. When Joshua was about to succeed Moses, the Lord told him three times, “Be strong and courageous, do not fear.” And then the Lord said three times, “I will be with you.” The Lord assured him three times not to be afraid and that He is with him. When the Lord is present, so are his grace and power. Thus we no longer need be afraid. The Lord Jesus assured his disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations, do not be afraid for I am with you.” Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”. Emmanuel means God with us. Jesus is Emmanuel. He is with us. This is a reality, a truth. But if we do not go, we cannot experience the promise of his presence.

2. Promise of the Lord’s Presence until the Very End of the Age — What is the very end of the age? Nobody knows at all. Two thousand years have already gone by since the Lord told the disciples ‘I will be with you until the very end of the age’. Nobody has ever lived 2000 years. The oldest man in the Bible, Methuselah, is only 969 years old, he didn’t even reach a thousand. I guess no one of us will live to a thousand years of age. What the Lord meant was ‘there is no day that I will not be with you. If you live to 80, or 90, I will be with you all your 80 – 90 years of life.’ Since that is so, what do we need to be afraid of? I tell you, no one in this world will forever be with us. Sometimes, our husband, wife, children may not be there for us too, but the Lord promised he will be us, until the very last second of our life. Will you still be afraid? Just go, this promise is yours, is mine , is ours.

The Great Commission is a spiritual 3-layered sandwich – the Lord’s authority is on top, the Lord’s promise below and in the middle is the Great Commission. Are you willing to go?

The post Together We Evangelize (1) – A Fresh Look at the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.