Jonah 3:6-10 | Part 5
Jonah Part 5
- Review
How do you treat others who ask forgiveness of you? With mercy or judgment?
Today, I will show you what God does when people repent and turn to him
The lie:
- My sin is not that bad
- If I turn to God he will make my life more difficult
The truth:
- My habitual sin will bring some hard times
- If I turn to God he will be merciful to me
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.
Jonah 3:6-10 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
- Good leaders lead their people. Great leaders lead their people and pay attention to what is happening. Sometimes great leaders follow
- The people respond to the word and obey
- The King responds to the word and obeys
You can obey and not repent. Repentance, however, always reveals itself through obedience
7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
- The King immediately leads his people
- He instructs them specifically on how to obey
- This is a fast
- He doesn’t just discuss the truth, he responds with action
Godly leadership:
Is active
Is verbal
Is clear
Is effective
Shared the Gospel with Jonathan yesterday. Met Antonio, saw Stephen
9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish."
- The King does not know what God will do but chooses to obey him
There is favor in God when we obey him, but not necessarily a release from the responsibility of our choices. God owes you nothing. We owe him everything
Job 41:11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
- The King knows he is dealing with the one who is supreme
- The King knows and understands God's fierce anger.
- He knows exactly what God hates
- Now the question is will God show mercy?
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
- Why does it say evil way, not ways?
Matthew 12:30
Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.
- As the people turned to him, God relented from judgment
- Judgment does not happen when we turn to God, mercy does!
- As you and I submit ourselves to Jesus and repent, his mercy is given to us as well
WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IN YOUR LIFE:
1.) As you hear God, are you responding to God?
- It starts with real obedience
- It gains momentum and longevity through repentance
2.) Are you leading your family in the ways of God, or following them so they like you?
- No matter who you are in your family, you are either a leader or a follower
- Followers do what is easiest (emotion)
- Leaders do what they are called to do (call)
- You’re not a good leader if you're not following Christ
3.) Are you ready to obey God no matter what the cost?
- What matters in your life right now more than Jesus?
- What relationships need to be rectified?
- Who do you need to talk to today?
What repentance looks like:
I. Get in the word. Repentance ALWAYS involves the word of God
-When we are listening and reading to God’s word, we are led by
God’s work
-When we are not listening and reading God's word, we are led by our own emotions. Our own sense of what is right and wrong
Isaiah 30:15
For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence. But you are not willing.”
II. Turn to Jesus. Look to him alone for your identity
- Your way is not working. The identities you are assigning yourself do not fit, and are harmful
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
III. Intentionally seek community
- Support is found in a healthy community
Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
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