I The first set of players is a repentant people who are praying prayers that do get answered.
1 Jonah’s prayer in the belly of the great fish & Nineveh’s prayer in the face of great destruction.
a Jonah spent 3 days praying for himself. (He says I, my, me 24 times in 8 verses of chapter 2)
aa He was in rebellion after God’s word, fleeing God’s presence.
bb God showed justice/disciple by sending a great wind, showed mercy by not letting him drown in the great storm, showed deliverance when the great fish vomited him on the shore.
cc Jonah went to the great city with a great commission, and there was a great revival.
b Nineveh prayed for themselves too. (2: 8,9)
aa Fasted to seeks God’s mercy, Sackcloth was a symbol of sorrow over sin.
bb They turned from their wicked ways (change of behavior, lived differently)
cc Cried out to God to show mercy . . . & He did! (No destruction in 40 days)
2 For our prayers to gather a similar efficiency to that of the Ninevites and Jonah’s prayers, they must come from a repentant heart.
a Remorse of sin (Sorrow, guilt, anguish . . . a sackcloth moment.)
b Removal of sin (Behavior change, lifestyle alteration, turning)
c Request for mercy (God withhold justice, wrath, discipline, wind, storm, . . . a fasting moment)
d "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." -James 5:16b
aa I believe the reason why many of our prayers are "ineffective" is we’re praying out of rebellion, not repentance.
bb We want mercy w/o the sackcloth; God’s touch but we’re not going to turn.
cc The reason the prayers of a righteous person can accomplish much is because their right with God.
3 Think of a husband and wife in a car, the wife tells her husband to turn right at the next junction and by mistake, he turns left.
a When he realizes what he has done, he says to his wife "I’m sorry love, I went the wrong way."
b But if that is all he does, it isn’t enough. His saying sorry isn’t getting them any closer to where they want to be; it isn’t even stopping them getting further away.
c To get where they want to be, he needs to stop the car, turn it around and go back on to the correct road that his wife told him to take in the first place.
d That is repentance.
II The second player is a Holy God who repents because of the prayers of a repentant people. (Jonah 3:10) (NIV: Compassion, KJV/RSV: Repented, NRSV: changed His mind)
1 God tells Nineveh (2.4) that He is going to overthrow (destroy) them in 40 days.
a Nineveh repents, cries out (v. 9), "And God did not do it." (v. 10)
b God changed His mind!
aa So what about 1 Samual 15: 29 "And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind."
bb BUT HE DID!!!
2 Scripture is NOT SHY in telling us that God does change His mind when it comes to giving compassion when His justice/righteousness requires death. (Romans 6:23)
a Exodus 32:7-10, After the Exodus, God decided to wipe out the Hebrews because they made a golden calf and credited the calf for deliverance out of Egypt. (Exod. 32:14)
aa 7 "At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; 8 if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. 9 "Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; 10 if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it. 11 "So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ’Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds."’ Jer 18:7-11 (NASB)
bb 2 "Thus says the LORD, ’Stand in the court of the LORD’S house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have come to worship in the LORD’S house all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. Do not omit a word! 3 ’Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the calamity which I am planning to do to them because of the evil of their deeds.’ Jer 26:2-3 (NASB)
cc 2 And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said, "Lord GOD, please pardon! How can Jacob stand, For he is small?" 3 The LORD changed His mind about this. "It shall not be," said the LORD. 4 Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, the Lord GOD was calling to contend with them by fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farm land. 5 Then I said, "Lord GOD, please stop! How can Jacob stand, for he is small?" 6 The LORD changed His mind about this. "This too shall not be," said the Lord GOD. Amos 7:2-6 (NASB)
dd (IL.) Before you received salvation, where would God say your eternal destination was? Aren’t you glad changed His mind?
b God will NEVER change His mind about sin and sin’s penalty.
aa Punishing sinners is not God’s favorite job (cf. Ezek. 19.32; 2 Pet. 3.9)
32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord GOD. "Therefore, repent and live."Ezek 18:32 (NASB)
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NASB)
bb God operates primarily out His attributes of mercy, love, & compassion.
c He is free to judge sin; free to relent according to His compassion.
aa His relenting/repenting/changing mind is engaged when we pray like Jonah/Nineveh.
bb It was always God’s desire to spare Nineveh (4:2).
d Want God to change His mind?
aa Remorse, Removal, Request of mercy.
bb God wants to relent, but first we must repent.
cc Want God to change His mind? Change your heart.
Jonah: It’s More Than A Fish Story Series
"How Our Prayers Can Influence God’s Activity"
Jonah 3 (3 of 4)
August 27, 2006 FBC, Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction
1 The city of Nineveh was thought to be non-existent by skeptics until the mid 1800’s when it was discovered by Sir Austen Henry Layard, near modern day Mosul in Iraq.
a Layard found coins, statues, and temple in the ruins of Nineveh dedicated to a popular god of the area, Dagon. (fish-god)
b Nineveh was discovered buried beneath a pair of hills (mounds) and the mounds were known as Kuyunjik and Nabi Yunus. Nabi Yunus in Arabic means "The Prophet Jonah." The ancient remains of Nineveh was found beneath an ancient hill (tell) named after the prophet Jonah.
2 Read Jonah 3
a The prayers of Jonah & Nineveh played a role in changing God’s mind. (ETS)
b A repentant believers prayers gets God’s attention. (ESS)
c I hope you will see the correlation between real repentance and effective prayer. (Objective)
3 What’s hindering you from praying the kind of prayer that changes God’s activity? (PQ)
a Let’s look at how the key players of Jonah 3 can help us pray more powerfully and effectively.
b Pray
Conclusion
1 The prayers of Jonah & Nineveh played a role in changing God’s mind. (ETS) A repentant believers prayers gets God’s attention. (ESS)
a We’ve looked at how the key players of Jonah 3 can help us pray more powerfully and effectively.
aa The repentant people who are praying prayers that do get answered.
bb A Holy God who repents because of the prayers of a repentant people.
2 I hope you will see the correlation between real repentance and effective prayer.
a Choice #1: Repentance (Change) or just regret.
b Choice #2: Pray for God to have mercy/compassion or neglect this powerful insight to prayer.
3 What’s hindering you from praying the kind of prayer that changes God’s activity? (PQ)
In his book No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, Max Lucado tells the following story to illustrate God’s love, grace and concern for those who are lost.
? Longing to leave her poor Brazilian neighborhood, Christina wanted to see the world. Discontent with a home having only a pallet on the floor, a washbasin, and a wood-burning stove, she dreamed of a better life in the city. One morning she slipped away, breaking her mother’s heart. Knowing what life on the streets would be like for her young, attractive daughter, Maria hurriedly packed to go find her. On her way to the bus stop she entered a drugstore to get one last thing. Pictures. She sat in the photograph booth, closed the curtain, and spent all she could on pictures of herself. With her purse full of small black-and-white photos, she boarded the next bus to Rio de Janeiro. Maria knew Christina had no way of earning money. She also knew that her daughter was too stubborn to give up. When pride meets hunger, a human will do things that were before unthinkable. Knowing this, Maria began her search. Bars, hotels, nightclubs, any place with the reputation for streetwalkers or prostitutes. She went to them all. And at each place she left her picture--taped on a bathroom mirror, tacked to a hotel bulletin board, fastened to a corner phone booth. And on the back of each photo she wrote a note. It wasn’t too long before both the money and the pictures ran out, and Maria had to go home. The weary mother wept as the bus began its long journey back to her small village.
It was a few weeks later that young Christina descended the hotel stairs. Her young face was tired. Her brown eyes no longer danced with youth but spoke of pain and fear. Her laughter was broken. Her dream had become a nightmare. A thousand times over she had longed to trade these countless beds for her secure pallet. Yet the little village was, in too many ways, too far away. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her eyes noticed a familiar face. She looked again, and there on the lobby mirror was a small picture of her mother. Christina’s eyes burned and her throat tightened as she walked across the room and removed the small photo. Written on the back was this compelling invitation. "Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn’t matter. Please come home." She did.
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