THE FATHERS KNOWS BEST
Jonah 4:1 - 11
CHECK YOUR ANGER
V:1-2."But Jonah was greatly displeased and became
angry. 2 He 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."
A. Not everyone in the Church agrees with mission of the
Church.
1. Jonah completed
the job God called Him to do but he was not happy
2. He became angry
while he was proclaiming the Gospel to Ninevites.
3. God loves a
cheerful giver.
a. We don't
store up treasures in heaven when we do something
in the
name of Lord and our heart is not in the service.
b. Jonah ran through Nineveh ,
not because he loved the Ninevites, but
because he
feared what God would do to him if he disobeyed
B. You cannot serve the Lord in your anger.
1. An angry person
is not a rational person.
2. Anger is an
emotion that we should never act upon.
3. Jonah was angry
with God because He did not destroy 600,000 people.
4. What Jonah
failed to realize is that God can change the heart of an
evil person to
be one of righteousness.
5. Jonah failed to
consider that God had shown him mercy in his disobedient
behavior.
6. Jonah failed to
consider that God saved him in the mist of his sin.
C. We are all recovering from some sinful behavior.
1. Not everybody is
happy with your recovery.
2. Some people are
jealous when you turn toward the Lord.
3. Jonah got angry
because He knew God would save all of Nineveh .
4. Jonah's agenda
was not God's agenda.
D. We must never pray that God give another person what we
think
they deserve.
1. We serve a compassionate God who blesses
who He wants to bless
and curses who
He wants to curse.
2. We should be
glad that God does not use our standard of justice because
we would be
cursed.
3. To be truthful
none of us deserves God's grave or mercy.
All have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God.
4. Before we
condemn another person, we should consider the mercy
that God has
shown us.
LIFE IS MORE THAN MY THOUGHTS
V:3-4. " Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is
better for me to die than to live."
4 But the Lord
replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"
A. Since Jonah's prayer of destruction for Nineveh
was not heard by God, he decided
that life was not
worth living.
1. Jonah's thoughts
were irrational because he was angry with God.
2. An irrational
person is capable of taking his own life when their situation
does not turn
out in their favor.
3. An angry person
is selfish because he considers his own agenda.
4. A selfish person
fails to consider the good he can do for others.
5. An angry and
selfish person denies God the opportunity to use him for
the good of
others.
B. We never have reason to be angry with God.
1. We serve a
loving and caring God. If it was not so, we would cease to
exist.
2. By Jonah's own
standard of justice, God should have allowed the fish to kill him.
3. Before we
consider revenge on another person, we need to consider
the grace showed
us when we were in sin.
GOD BLESSES INSPITE OF OUR SINS
V: 5-6. " Jonah 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. 6 Then the Lord God provided a vine and made
it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and
Jonah was very happy about the vine."
A. Sometimes while we are considering our selfish agendas,
God is setting us up
for a lesson in
life that will change us.
1. Notice Jonah had
been save from his disobedience, but he didn't want God to
save the
inhabitants of Nineveh from their
disobedience.
2. Any compassion
that was in Jonah was blinded by his selfish agenda.
3. Jonah did not
consider that among the 600000 population of Nineveh
that there were
men, women and children who were innocence of the evil
of the ruling
class.
B. Notice God blessed Jonah with shelter from the sun while
he was hoping that
the same God
would not show compassion to innocence people.
1. Just because
everything seem to be going well does not mean everything
is right
between you and God.
2. God has ways of
bring you to you right mind.
3. Sometimes God
shows you how good He is before He shows you
how bad you
are.
GOD HAS AWAY OF GETTING US TO SEE HIS VIEW
V:7-8. " But at dawn the next day God provided a worm,
which chewed the vine so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a
scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint.
He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to
live."
A. Here is the lesson; You can't expect God to bless you
while praying that He curse others.
1. God blessed
Jonah's situation one day and cursed it the next day.
2. God blessed Jonah
with shade one day and cursed him with scorching sun
the next day.
3. God blessed
Jonah with pleasure one day and pain the next day.
4. God blessed
Jonah with the desire to live one day and the wish to die the
next day.
5. I can only
assume that God wanted Jonah to have a perspective between
blessings and
curses.
B. The evil you wish for others may be the same evil you
face.
1. It is when we
are in trouble that we earnestly call on God.
2. The lesson is,
when others are in trouble we should earnestly
pray to God
for their salvation.
WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE ANGRY
V: 9-10. " But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a
right to be angry about the vine?" "I do," he said. "I am
angry enough to die." 10 But the Lord said, "You have been concerned
about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up
overnight and died overnight."
A. Most of what God's provides for us, we put forth no
effort to get.
1. The air we
breath, the water we drank, the food we eat was put here for us
when God
created the earth.
2. We have no
right to be angry with God if He gives us more or takes what
He gave.
B. The lesson is that
we put more emphasis on perishable things we have than the
spiritual needs
of ourselves and others.
1. God provides an
open door for eternal life for everyone.
2. It is our job
to proclaim the Gospel and lead others to the door of salvation.
3. A selfish
person only considers his own needs.
4. God wants us to concerned about the
spiritual needs of others.
C. There were 120000 innocent children in Nineveh .
1. Jonah did not
consider the welfare of innocent whole hoping
God would kill
an entire city.
2. We should make
our decision based on the grace and mercy God has
shown us.
EVERYONE DESERVES GOD'S FAVOR
11. But Nineveh
has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right
hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about
that great city?"
A. God's Agenda is
always more important than our personal agendas.
1. God has a plan
that does not include our personal opinions.
2. God sees what
is best for the entire body of Christ.
3. We can see
only what we know or have experience.
B. All things works together for the good of those who love
the Lord
and are called
according to His purposes.
1. We don't know
who God has called.
2. Therefore we
cannot eliminate anyone, no matter
what we think
about them.
3. We cannot judge
the call of Christ to His people.
4. Our opinions may
work against the call of God.
5. In Jonah's case
he wanted to work against the will of God.
C. It is our job to love everyone with the expectation that
God has
it all worked
out.
Thank God for His Grace
and Mercy
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
For more lessons follow me on facebook or visit my my blogs
www.revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
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