Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20031026.htm

JONAH: GOD'S RELENTLESS OUTREACH TO ALL MEN
Part I: God's Relentless World Outreach Even As His Heralds Fail Him
(Jonah 1:1-16)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

This past week, several believers have expressed deep concerns about God's role and OUR HUMANLY FRAGILE role in discipling:

(1) Last Sunday, a believer spoke with me about a charge unbelievers have long held, the idea that God in the OLD Testament unjustly hated and thus slaughtered Gentile people groups in Canaan to "play favorites" with Israel and give her the Holy Land.

The argument of this view can be expressed like this: "If the Old Testament God is the One Who allegedly sent His Son, Jesus to save the world in the New Testament, how can Jesus really be the truly LOVING Savior of the whole world when the Old Testament God Who sent Him was so HEARTLESS with Canaan's Gentile peoples?"

[I shared with this believer that God had graciously given these very Gentiles 400 years time to repent BEFORE He led Joshua to destroy them in the conquest of the land, and that according to Genesis 15:13-16. Nevertheless, this issue could use an Old Testament illustration that we can provide in our study of the book of Jonah!]

(2) On Wednesday, another believer expressed deep concern about what GOD may be requiring of us Christians to evangelize unsaved associates who are still attending spiritually dark churches in Christendom. The issue may be expressed as follows: "Are my unsaved associates in their errant Church going to go to hell if I fail to persuade them to believe the truth, all because of my inability or neglect? Will God PUNISH me for this FAILURE?"

(3) Again, that same Wednesday, I received a telephone call from another believer who wondered what to do in a questionable matter with his child he was trying to disciple. Again, we might frame a question to reflect his concern as follows: "Will my CHILD grow up to be a carnal Christian to my SHAME before GOD because I FAILED to UNDERSTAND some carnal bent he had EARLY enough in his life so I could CHECK it? Will God judge ME for this INABILITY or SHIRKING of my duty in such a DIFFICULT, CONFUSING issue as I am CURRENTLY facing with this child?



To answer such questions, we begin a study in the book of JONAH of the OLD Testament.

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "I have BIG questions re: discipleship: (a) If I FAIL to TELL a lost party the Gospel or (b) FAIL to be ABLE to DISCIPLE him well, does God's WORK fail?! (c) Then, did God in OLD Testament times MERCILESSLY kill pagans?! If so, WHY trust in His Son?!"
  1. God called His OLD Testament HEBREW prophet, Jonah to evangelize the VERY threatening GENTILE Assyrians, Jon. 1:1-2.
    1. God called His Hebrew prophet, Jonah to preach at Nineveh, warning the city to repent to avoid His judgment, Jonah 1:1-2.
    2. Jonah did NOT want to evangelize Nineveh for personal reasons:
      1. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, a nation exercising "extreme cruelty to prisoners of war," Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, ftn. to 1:2.
      2. As the Assyrians were a threat to Israel, and Israel had recently expanded its borders, Jonah wanted Assyria to be judged and not blessed by God, cf. Bible Know. Com., O. T. , p. 1461.
      3. Accordingly, Jonah did not want to evangelize Nineveh for its blessing, but rather see it experience God's wrath!
  2. In view of his reluctance to EVANGELIZE Nineveh, Jonah FLED in the OPPOSITE direction FROM NINEVEH so the Assyrians might be DESTROYED by GOD for FAILING to repent, 1:3; 4:2!
  3. Yet, so MOTIVATED was GOD that GENTILES have a CHANCE to REPENT, He FORCED JONAH to TESTIFY EFFECTIVELY to GENTILES EVEN in his FLIGHT FROM Nineveh, Jonah 1:4-16:
    1. The Jonah 1:4-16 narrative contains an odd arrangement of themes: Jonah did not mention the important fact that the sailors knew Jonah fled from God in the order this event occurred, cf. Jonah 1:10b.
    2. Examining the section to see WHY this narrative has such a disorder reveals Jonah grouped Jonah 1:4-16 as a literary figure -- a chiasm of themes a, b, c, d, e, f, g, f`, e`, d`, c`, b`, a` where subject "a" relates to subject "a`," subject "b" relates to subject "b`," etc., Ibid., p. 1465.
    3. Jonah's use of such a chiasm HIGHLIGHTS God's FORCED use of His erring prophet, Jonah effectively to evangelize Gentile sailors:
      1. Ancient writers like Jonah used a chiasm for a special emphasis, E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, p. 374.
      2. Well, viewing the CENTER of this chiasm, the MOST important part, theme, "g" at Jonah 1:9, we see the prophet Jonah's God-impessive, effective-discipling message to the Gentiles: the God Who had stirred up the sea as his God, the Creator of both dry land and SEA!
        1. When Jonah fled from Nineveh, he took a boat from Joppa (modern Jaffa on Israel's Mediterranean coast) in the opposite direction for Spain, Jonah, Ibid., Ryr ie St. Bib., KJV, ftn. to 1:3.
        2. Not only did God want to correct Jonah, but He worked to gain the attention of the Gentile sailors who ran Jonah's ship as is evidenced by His sending a fierce wind to stir up the sea, 1:4-6.
        3. Consequently, these Gentiles learned the tempest was caused by something JONAH had done, so they asked Jonah how to SOLVE their current crisis of the rough seas, Jonah 1:7-8.
        4. Then, in the heart of the literary chiasm where Jonah claimed his God had made the land and SEA, since these Gentiles knew Jonah fled from God, they were terrified and sought to please GOD to be delivered from HIS sea, 1:9-11; Ibid., B.K.C., O.T.
        5. The sailors stalled heeding Jonah's call to throw him overboard; they feared God's wrath were they to mistreat Jonah, 1:12-14.
        6. Yet, failure to improve their lot by all other efforts led them to cast Jonah into the sea as they begged God for mercy, 1:13-15a.
        7. In witnessing the sea grow calm once they cast Jonah overboard, these Gentile sailors greatly feared Jonah's God of the SEA , and worshipped Him with a sacrifice and vows, Jonah 1:15b-16.
      3. So, as the Jonah 1:4-16 CHIASM highlights Jonah's God-forced witness to Gentile sailors under conditions GOD set up to make Jonah's message EFFECTIVE, Jonah 1:4-26 is arranged to show God was so motivated to reach Gentiles He forced Jonah to be an effective witness to Gentile sailors even when Jonah fled from God's calling to evangelize Nineveh's Gentiles!
Application: Be SURE that WHOEVER we are, WE are both INFINITELY LOVED and POWERFULLY PURSUED by the Creator God of the Bible: as such, (1) we should trust in Christ as Savior from sin and be saved unto eternal life, John 3:16. (2) Then, we should share this gospel to ALL INDIVIDUALS in the WORLD, Matthew 28:19-20! (3) To those who ask, we can say (a) the Bible's God has ALWAYS PURSUED ALL men in LOVE, (b) and He is ABLE (c) and WILLING to DISCIPLE them regardless of the FAILINGS of his heralds (like Jonah)!

Lesson: Though the OLD Testament Hebrew prophet, Jonah did his best to AVOID discipling Nineveh's Gentiles, GOD'S WILL and POWER to REACH these GENTILES was so GREAT, He FORCED JONAH to be an EFFECTIVE WITNESS EVEN to his boat's GENTILE SAILORS!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 To show how God infinitely loves, desires to disciple and is ABLE to reach the most unlikely party amidst man's frailty and sin, here is an illustration from a call I received while typing this sermon:

The call came from a woman in the Midwest "Bible Belt" who was selling subscriptions for a Christian magazine to pastors. When she mentioned the magazine's name, I got nervous: I used to subscribe to this work, but stopped taking it years ago due to the errant drift of its articles. I feared when I had to decline taking the subscription she would ask, "Why?" and I would have to alienate yet another believer for expressing my Biblical convictions!

Sure enough, when she finished her sale's pitch and I declined, she predictably asked, "May I ask WHY you are declining this offer?"

I replied, "I once subscribed to the magazine, but I have since come to have theological differences with it!"

To my huge surprise, she responded, "That is very interesting to me -- for my OWN benefit, would you explain yourself?"

I relayed I had stopped my former subscription due to the artificial spirituality the magazine's articles promoted. After giving specific details, I concluded, saying that after 27 years in the pastorate, I had found the only way I could effectively minister to my own heart let alone to the heart of the people to whom I ministered was to expound Scripture. I found nothing else truly edified God's people!

To my SHOCK, she THANKED me, saying my words had ministered to her heart! Our call ended on a huge upbeat!

I can not comprehend HOW this woman who had been trying to SELL ME a subscription was made so OPEN to my CRITIQUE of her magazine! Yet, I DO know GOD is WILLING and ABLE to USE us to reach the most UNLIKELY party!

After typing up this closing illustration, I noted ALL of the illustrations used in this sermon's "Introduction" revealed needs of believers IN OUR BODY in accord with my remark to this woman about how the Bible ALONE addresses our heart needs! It was as though God signaled He CONDONED my summary remark to this caller!

May we FOLLOW God's LEAD in faith that GOD'S work to reach ALL men WILL succeed due to HIS POWER and LOVE!