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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's Word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in.
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Now, the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time. Now, since this is part three of the series, you guys remember in the first part, when God spoke to Jonah, he was like, lord, I don't want to be bothered. But how many of you know God is the God of a second chance? And after Jonah turned back to the Lord, not only was he forgiven, he was restored to his office and he received a fresh commission. How many of us agree if God didn't give us second chances, we would have no chance at all. The writer says the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time. Again, God is the God of second chances. Third chances, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh chances. And if you're like me, you seldom make a mistake twice. You make it six, seven or eight times just to be sure. He told Jonah to go to Nineveh, and he called it that great city. This is the second time in the book of Jonah that God calls Nineveh great, despite the fact the Scriptures called that city wicked. Somehow. God sees all our faults, but also sees all of our potential. He sees our many weaknesses, but he also sees hidden deep down within our greatness. Then he said, and preach to it the message that I tell you, never compromise the message. The method may change, but God's message always stays the same. Keep this in mind. By definition, God is perfect. And if he ever changed at that moment, he'd become less than perfect and less than God. And that is why Scripture says Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Heaven and earth will pass away. Culture and societies will pass away. Fashion and trends will pass away. But God's word remains the same. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh. You know, when I look back over my life, the time I wasted most in my life was the time I wasted not getting started. And instead of arguing like last time, Jonah decided to put on his sneakers. The Bible said, and he went according to the word of the Lord. You see, we cannot resist God and overcome the devil at the same time. God and his Word are one. And when God's word guides us, absolutely nothing can stop us. Now, Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three day journey in extent, meaning it took about three days to get through all the streets of the city as well as the surrounding suburbs. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk. So here we have this prophet who's traveled all the way by fish, Iran, Iraq area, if you will. And at this time, this was the most powerful city in the world. The buildings were impressive, the people were bustling. But there stood this man with his face bleached from the stomach acid of the fish, probably all of his body and facial hair gone. This man was a sight to behold. But I want to tell you something. He sin never ends well. It will always take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. When he got to the city, scripture says he cried out, few things are more boring than an uninspired preacher. Speak with conviction and courage or sit down and be quiet. And he opened his mouth and said, yet 40 days in Nineveh shall be overthrown. This was a tough message. This was a hard message. This was not a pleasant, soft, motivational message. But somebody said, the truth will set you free, but first it will make you mad. But watch this, watch this, watch this. So the people of Nineveh believed God. When Jonah stuck to the script, the people responded. It might surprise you how many people would respond if we would just stick to what God says about the matter. The word wasn't sexy. It wasn't attractive, but he spoke it. And when the people heard it, they proclaimed, a fast. People turned over their plates to turn their hearts to God. But please understand this, because people sometimes get mismotivated in their prayer and their fasting. Fasting is not designed to change God. God cannot change. It's designed to change us. And the people put on sackcloth. Sackcloth was a thick, scratchy material made from goatskin. And the point of them doing this was saying, lord, I really don't care how uncomfortable it makes me. I'm willing to pay whatever price it costs to get my life right with you. You know, growth always happens right at the edge of our comfort zone. A writer said this. He said, whenever we lose our hunger for God, it's only because we got full of ourselves. And they put on sackcloth ashes from the greatest to the least of them. Nobody was too important. Nobody was too busy to participate. Then word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne and he laid aside his royal robes. And you know, God is at work when politicians start turning to God. And by the way, hugs and kisses to all of the elected officials that are in the room and live streaming. A couple came up to me after last service saying, you talking about me? No, I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about everybody else. And the king covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. When real revival hits a church, town, a city, a nation, it impacts the least to the highest. This very imperfect man that we've studied already for two Sundays was armed only with the word of God. And simply this man and the word of God was enough to save an entire city from ruin. It doesn't take as much as we think to make a difference. And the king caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the king and his nobles, saying, let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. So, you know, the king was really, really serious about if he's got, you know, Fido and Kitty, you know, involved in the fast and all the rest. And here's the king's instructions. He said, and cry mightily to God. There's a place for quiet prayer, but there are times as you gotta cry aloud and spare not your voice. There's. Sometimes it cries so deep within, it's not responsible to try to just quietly say it. And in those moments, often tears are running and mascara, wigs turned, shoes kicked, off, all that. But the Bible said the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force. And sometimes it requires a little something something to get hold of God. He said, and cry. Not just cry, but cry mightily to God. So this was a prayer meeting like none other. And as the psalmist said, out of the depths of my heart, God, I've cried to you, O Lord. And there is hope for the helpless rest for the weary, if we would just learn to cry out to our God. He said, cry mightily to God. Yes, let everyone turn from his evil way. So it wasn't just about prayer. It was also about action. So they cried out to God, but then they made some adjustments. So if you say you're praying but your life never changed, I kind of question your prayers. You say, cry mightily to God. Yes, do that. Let everyone turn from his evil way. So if you're heading in the wrong direction with God, U turns are always legal. And here's what they said. Who can tell if God will turn and relent and turn away from his fierce anger so that we may not perish. We see here that this pagan king had more faith than many of us in this room. And many of us livestreaming. The king thought, you know, hey, if this is the God that created the heavens and the earth, and the earth can spin and God can turn night into Day every 24 hours. How come God can't turn it around? Also for me, you see, broken things become blessed things when we let God do the mending. Then God saw, watch this. Their works. So God didn't just hear their prayers. He saw their action. They turned from their evil way. But watch this. And God relented from the disaster that he had said he would bring upon them. And he did not do it. Our sins are never greater than God's mercy. But here's the deal. You got to get back on the right track. I think it was Will Rogers that said, after you get on the right track, keep moving forward, because otherwise you're going to get run over if you sit there. Jonah 4:1. Now we're at our focus today as we wrap up Jonah. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. Here's the problem. Jonah wanted God to have mercy on me and mine, us four no more. But when God had mercy on people who sinned differently than he did, he started to question God's justice. I'm preaching good, even if you're not saying amen. So he prayed to the Lord and said, ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country and I fled previously to Tarsus? So he's about to explain the reason he ran from the Lord. For I know that you are gracious and a merciful God, slow to anger and abundant and loving kindness, one who relents from doing harm. God, I wanted justice. God. I wanted you to get them Democrats. I wanted you to get them Republicans. I wanted you to get them, whoever's not us, get them, have mercy on us. But God, smite them. But Jonah, you know, for him it was okay when he was in the belly of his fishy situation, when God had compassion on him. But he got angry when God showed the same compassion to the Ninevites. Here's the big question today. What if God held your sins against you the way you're holding other sins against them? I'm preaching better than you saying Amen. Y'all were shouting a minute ago. Therefore, now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it's better for me to die than to live. What a drama queen. But drama usually starts where our reasoning ends. So in God's mercy, he starts engaging Jonah's mind and starts asking him some questions to help Jonah think. Then the Lord said, and by the way, if I were God, I would have certainly sent a lightning bolt, even though I didn't want to do the lightning thing, at least an earthquake. And then, even if it was just a super good day, at least a rash. I mean, at least make them itch, a boil, something. But God is so patient, so patient, he engages his intellect and he gets the prophet to start thinking. He said, jonah, is it right for you to be angry? God was like, bro, look in the mirror. It's okay for me to be patient with you, but not to be patient with anybody else. So when God said this to Jonah, Jonah stuck his lip out and started pouting. And he went up out of the city and sat on the east side of the city on a hill where he could look down on it upon everybody else. But I remember somebody saying, don't look down on people unless you're willing to lift them up there. He made himself a shelter and sat under its shade till he might see what would become of the city. And as he sat there, the Lord prepared yet another object lesson for the prophet. And you know, God didn't give up on you, so please don't give up on him. The first chapter of Jonah. God prepared a fish for him. And in a moment, we're gonna see him prepare a plant. And here's the big point. God is prepared to prepare whatever it takes to reach you. And the Lord prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. Now, this is the first time in the entire book that Jonah was happy. He was only happy when it was about him. So Jonah was grateful for the plan. As long as Jonah got help, he was good. But the problem was, he didn't care about God helping anybody else. Watch your attitude, because it's the first thing people see about you. But as morning dawned the next day, there's only a few verses left. God prepared a worm. God prepared a fish. God prepared a plant. Now God prepares a worm. Might some of the challenges in your life be God trying to tell you something? And the worm so damaged the plant that it withered. And it happened when the sun arose. That God prepared a vehement east wind. God prepared a fish. God prepared a plant. God prepared a worm. Now God prepared a vehement east wind. And the sun beat on Jonah's head so that he grew faint and weary. Then he wished death for himself the second time and said, it's better for me to die than to live. Jonah got suicidal, But Jonah also got so caught up in himself, he was not just missing a screw, he had lost a whole toolbox. But the Lord was using life to teach Jonah a lesson. And God used the situation. He said, you have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored nor made it grow, which came up in one night, which was a miracle, and perished in the night. You made no investment in the plant, but you act like you care about it. But for me, I invested life limb, sunlight, rain and every person in that city. Don't you think they matter to me? And should I not pity Nineveh? Many scholars are frustrated with how Jonah ends because it just ends flat. It ends with God counting the number of people in the city and stating, should I not pity them? Also should I not pity that what great city? And what he was saying to Jonah is, Jonah, you know I got you, despite your self righteousness, your attitude and all the rest. But what about you helping others get me too? Repentance is not as highly emotional nor as complicated as we think. All repentance is, is surrendering to the wisdom of God. And the wonderful thing about God is no matter how far you have gone down the wrong road, God is always there to help you turn it around. What we see in the book of Jonah is a self righteous man that God uses despite himself to reach wicked people who had no disposition to hear, but by the grace of God, they heard anyway. And what God is trying to say to each of us, he's not requiring perfection. He's simply saying if we would surrender Jonah's problem. Jonah was all about me and mine, us four no more. He was all about, I want to get my blessing, but couldn't understand how in God's economy, others matter. And my simple message today is that the book of Jonah is not about a distant prophet, about you and me. We want God to have mercy on us, but smite them, kill them, get them so the book ends suddenly, so that all that's left is reflection. So each of us might be sitting at the top of our own little hill, looking down on some other folk wishing they ought to get it right, right? What's going to happen with them? God kill them. And all the while God looking at you, trying to work with you to get you right. Did you get anything out of that quick message today? I made it nice and short for you. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
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Thank you for joining us. Until next time, remember you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started. By visiting Derekreer.com by clicking the link in the description.