Introduction: Veggie-tales Jonah, “Our God is a God of Second Chances”
Our God is a God of second chances–and third, and fourth, and so on! The mercy and grace of God is greater than all of our sin. Regardless of who you are or what you have done, God is ready to let you start over again.
We continue our 50-day spiritual adventure looking at my all time favorite fish-story, Jonah. God used Jonah, a reluctant prophet, to bring his mercy to the people of Nineveh. Unfortunately, Jonah missed being able to see what God was doing. Jonah couldn’t see past himself and his people the nation of Israel.
Like Jonah, we may at times be nearsighted and unable to see the big picture. Our shortsighted vision can go between two extremes:
[1] “Crossless-eyed Vision”: our vision is blurred and we are unable to clearly see the cross of Christ; our eyesight is crisscrossed so that all we can see is our sin and failure. We can’t see how God could forgive us.
We are like the prodigal son; we have taken our inheritance and wasted it on the pleasures of the world. We find ourselves penniless in the pig-pen of our own making. How could the father ever acknowledge that we were his son or daughter? We’ve lost sight of the love of the cross of Christ.
[2] “Me-optic Vison”: we are only able to see God’s grace at work in our own lives, and those like us. Our focus is on God’s blessing individually to the exclusion of seeing how God’s mercy is available to others.
“Me-optic vision” excludes some people from God’s grace either by categorizing and quantifying levels of sin, or by excluding certain people groups as unreachable.
All too often “me-optic vision” is caused by either our unwillingness to accept or forgive individuals who have committed the “big sin”, or a bias that shuts certain groups of people out. We reason, “they’ve made their choice, so now they have to live with it.”
“Me-optic vision” says that the abusive alcoholic, the drug addict, the homosexual, the rapist, the murder, or some other sinner is beyond forgiveness. “Me-optic vision” qualifies the Muslim, the Buddhist, the Mormon, or some other religious group as unreachable.
Do you suffer from “cross-eyed vision” or “me-otic vision”? Yours may not be a severe disorder; it may only be a slight imperfection of how you view the mercy of God in your life or the lives of others. Most people would never suspect that your eyesight is faulty, but imperfect is—well imperfect.
Today, God wants to touch our defective eyes so we can see clearly, or putting it another way, God wants us to “Expect the Unexpected.” Those things that we once saw as impossible we look for God to do: LET’S EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!
1. UNEXPECTED PLACE: Jonah 1:1-2 1The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2"Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." (NIV)
God called Jonah to take a message of judgement to Nineveh. Nineveh was an up-and-coming world power in Jonah’s day, the most important city in Assyria. Within 50 years, Nineveh would become the capital of the vast Assyrian empire. This is the last place on earth that Jonah thought God would send him; why would God send Jonah to preach to his enemies?
Nineveh was located about 50 miles south of modern day Baghdad along the Tigris River. Jonah’s mission to Nineveh would be as current as you or me being sent to Baghdad to warn Saddam Hussain and the nation of Iraq that God would bring judgement upon them if they did not turn from their sin.
Jonah doesn’t say much about Nineveh’s sin, but we know from the prophet Nahum that it would have been very similar to the headlines we read in our newspapers about the atrocities of Saddam Hussain’s regime. Nineveh was guilty of [1] plotting against the Lord (Nahum 1:9), [2] abusing their enemies and the oppressed (Nahum 2:12, 13), and [3] leading other nations to practice their idolatry, prostitution and witchcraft (Nahum 3:4).
God was sending Jonah to Nineveh, about 500 miles northeast of Israel, with a message of impending judgment if the nation did not turn from their sin and receive God’s mercy.
Because of Jonah’s nearsighted “me-optic vision” he could not see this unexpected place that God was sending him to. Jonah’s faulty eyesight caused him to make an unexpected response.
2. UNEXPECTED RESPONSE: Jonah 1:3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. (NIV)
God told Johan to turn left and he headed right. Instead of going east to Nineveh, Jonah headed in the opposite direction and boarded a ship headed west to Tarshish, the other side of the world. Jonah was “running away from the Lord.”
Now Jonah was a prophet in Israel who spoke the Word of God; we might expect an ordinary Jew or Gentile to ignore God’s direction, but not one of God’s prophets! However, Jonah was biased and couldn’t see straight. Jonah’s attitude is like that of Israel’s reluctance to share God’s love and mercy with others, even though this was their God-given mission.
+ Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (NIV)
Like Jonah, the Jews did not want non-Jews (Gentiles)to obtain God’s favor. The Jews were proud of the fact that they were God’s chosen people; they alone were deserving of God’s mercy and not the Gentiles. God’s chosen man ran away from the Lord.
Let’s not be too hard on Jonah; we too have been guilty of not listening to God’s direction. When God makes His purposes known to us through his Word, like Jonah, we sometimes run the other way because we are unable to see the place God wants to work.
In the same way that Israel had a God-given mission to bring God’s blessing to the world, the church today has been commissioned to take the message of Christ into a world that is lost and in need of a savior. Jesus said, “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all” (Mark 16:15 MsgB).
Like Jonah, God has called us to take the gospel into some “unexpected places” and yet we run in the opposite direction. Whatever our motive may be: anger, fear, hardheaded stubbornness, uncertainty–we may even think God is being unreasonable–whatever the reason, running from God is useless.
Running from God will only cause more trouble. Jonah placed himself and all those onboard the ship in danger. When the storm came, the captain and his crew feared for their lives; they threw their cargo overboard and each one called to his own God, but nothing helped their situation–the storm only grew worse.
In the end Jonah knew that he could not hide from the “God of heaven” (Jonah 1:9). He told the ship captain and crew, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea, and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you” (Jonah 1:12 NIV). Jonah could run, but he couldn’t hide.
+ Psalm 139:7-10 7Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
“Me-optic vision” wants to receive God’s blessing for my life, but is unable to see how God could use them to bless others. Jonah couldn’t see how God would send him to Nineveh, so he ran to Tarshish. Jonah wanted to be “the prophet of God”, but he didn’t want to follow the direction of the Lord and go to Nineveh
Like Jonah, God wants each of us to see beyond ourselves and see how he can work through us to reach the world with His love. Are you willing to let God use you ANYTIME and ANY PLACE? What has God told you to do–to whom has God sent you? If you desire to experience God’s love and power in your life, then you cannot run away from doing what God wants you to do.
+ 1 John 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. (NIV)
Jesus put it this way, “if you love me then you will do what I say” (see John 14:15). When we run away from God, like Jonah, we will find unexpected discipline.
3. UNEXPECTED DISCIPLINE: Jonah 1:17 But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. (NIV)
Jonah thought his life was over; he had run away from God, and now God had found him. The sea raged and the winds blew; Jonah’s sin had put his and the lives of the others onboard the ship in danger. “Throw me overboard and God will spare your lives.” At least Jonah thought he could die knowing the ship and crew had been saved. God had other plans.
God’s purpose was NOT TO DESTROY JONAH, BUT TO DISCIPLINE HIM–God wanted to instruct Jonah to walk in obedience to the Word of the Lord.
+ Hebrews 12:7-11 7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (NIV)
When Jonah thought that all hope was gone, even then God was reaching out to him. GOD WAS PREPARING THE MESSENGER WITH THE MESSAGE. The Lord was showing Jonah that in the same way he had run away from the Lord, Nineveh had run away in sin also. Likewise, God was ready to let Jonah and the people of Nineveh receive the mercy and forgiveness of the Lord if they turned around to seek the Lord.
Unexpectedly Jonah was disciplined by the Lord, but by the grace of God Jonah found an unexpected sanctuarywithin the belly of a whale .
4. UNEXPECTED SANCTUARY: Jonah 2:1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. (NIV)
Jonah was not willing to go to the unexpected place of Nineveh, so he ran away from the Lord. However, when Jonah feared for his life, and he thought all hope was gone Jonah found God in an unexpected sanctuary.
+ Jonah 2:2, 7 [Jonah prayed,] “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. . . When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.” (NIV)
When you reach bottom–Jonah couldn’t get any lower than the bottom of the ocean–when you get to that point WHEN YOU HAVE NOTHING, THE LORD WILL BE THERE.
+ Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (NIV)
We often may make the mistake of believing that we can only find God at certain times or places. God is not confined to our boxes.
▸ Moses met God on a mountain side at a burning bush.
▸ Samuel heard the voice of God in his bed.
▸ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego found God in the fire.
▸ Daniel prayed to the Lord from the lion’s den.
▸ Zacchaeus met Jesus in a sycamore tree.
▸ A Samaritan woman met Jesus at a well.
▸ The prodigal son came to his senses in a pig pen.
▸ Saul was transformed by Jesus on the road to Damascus.
▸ Paul and Silas worshiped God in a prison cell.
▸ John saw Jesus exiled on the Island of Patmos.
God will meet with you ANYWHERE! From the sanctuary of a whale’s belly God gave Jonah an unexpected second chance.
5. UNEXPECTED SECOND CHANCE: Jonah 2:10-3:2 10And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. 1Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2"Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you." (NIV)
God is in the recycling business; God takes what the world would otherwise throw away and uses it to fulfill his purpose. Many would have given up on Jonah; he had his chance and he blew it. Some may have given up on you.
God isn’t going to discard you as a has-been–a Christian-wanna-be. Remember, we aren’t to see ourselves from our perspective, or the limited perspective of this world. We need to see ourselves from God’s perspective; EMBRACE GOD’S IDENTITY FOR YOUR LIFE!
At the beginning of our 50-day spiritual adventure, we were challenged to replace our false identity with a God-given identity. Whether you have done that yet or not, let me tell you this morning who you are. You are Christ’s Ambassador; you are his chosen representative to your family, friends and the world!
+ 2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (NIV)
Someone has rightly said, “You are either a missionary, or a mission field.” Let me put that another way, “You’re either a lifeguard, or you are a drowning victim.” What is the purpose of a lifeguard? They are to rescue those whose lives are in danger of being lost. The unfortunate reality is that many so-called “Christians” are nothing more than lifeguards getting a tan at the beach and are blind to those who are drowning all around them. What kind of a lifeguard is that?
God is a God of second chances. You may have been the lifeguard on duty when someone drowned on your watch, but God knows there are still others who are drowning, so He will send you to their rescue.
Jonah was given a second chance to proclaim the word of the Lord to the people of Nineveh before it was too late. When God’s word was proclaimed on the streets of Nineveh a nation discovered the unexpected mercy of God.
6. UNEXPECTED MERCY: Jonah 3:9-10 9Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish." 10When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. (NIV)
God is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4 NIV); the boundaries of His grace have no measure. As a poet has said, “Where the sky a scroll and the oceans filled with ink, I could not describe the wonders of God’s love.”
+ Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of [your people]? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. (NIV)
+ Psalm 103:9-12 9He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (NIV)
We can do nothing to earn the favor of God; He forgives us because of His abundant love and mercy and not because of anything that we have done to earn it.
At this point in the story, I know that I would have enjoyed being Jonah. We preachers enjoy seeing people respond to God’s message; it’s fulfilling to know that you have spoken God’s word and in turn people’s lives are being changed.
One might think that the “preacher” in Jonah is feeling pretty good about now; he has preached the message and his people are being saved. WRONG! Jonah’s story has an unexpected ending.
7. UNEXPECTED END: Jonah 4:1-3 1But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. 2He prayed to the Lord, "O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee 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. 3Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." (NIV)
✎ In the Veggie-tales’ Jonah, we see Archibald Asparagus, a.k.a. Jonah, sitting on a hillside waiting for God to destroy Nineveh. He says, “This should be a safe distance; alright Lord you can make with the fire and brimstone now.” Jonah waits in the hot sun but nothing happens. God causes a plant to grow which shaded Jonah from the sun; however the next morning it has been eaten by a worm, and Jonah is upset. Archibald’s little traveling buddy Kaleel, a.k.a. the worm speaks for the Lord, “You care more about that plant than you do for all those people down there in that city; you just don’t get it do you.”
What will be the end of your story? Will you be like Jonah? Will you disregard the instruction and discipline of the Lord continuing to look at the world through nearsighted “crossless” or “me-optic vision”? Or will your heart beat with the heart of God? Will you understand that, like Jonah, you have received God’s love and mercy to share with others who desperately need what you have been given?
God wants us to “Expect the Unexpected” to get outside of our boxes and preconceived ideas in order to see the world as He does.
What can you do to become a “world-class” Christian–to share God’s heart for the world?
1. Adopt a missionary. Select one of our missionaries as your “personal” missionary. Write to them regularly; kids can even adopt missionary kids and write to them. Begin to pray daily for them and request to receive their monthly newsletter so that you can be better prepared to pray for them.
2. Give financially to support our missionaries throughout the world. One sure way to know what controls your heart is to see what happens with your wallet.
3. Before you cross the world with the message of Christ; cross the street. God will call some of us to an unexpected place. . . our neighborhood. Look on the fields and see that they are ripe unto harvest.
