The Character of Compassion
Series: MISSION MONTH
Speaker: James Barnett
Date: 26th May 2019
Passage: Jonah 4:1-11
00:00:01 --> 00:00:13 Good morning. My name is James. I have a lovely wife. I have three children. But you probably
00:00:13 --> 00:00:20 know most of those things. Here are some things that you might be surprised to learn. I've
00:00:20 --> 00:00:25 been, you might actually know this one, I've been trying to learn Mandarin for many years
00:00:25 --> 00:00:32 and I'm pretty terrible at it. I love K-pop music. Do you know what K-pop music is? It's Korean
00:00:32 --> 00:00:38 pop music and it's wonderful. I can educate you later, don't worry. And I really like this
00:00:38 --> 00:00:44 Chinese sauce. It's called Lao Gan Ma. Does anybody eat this? Yes, this stuff is delicious.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:54 You can try this on your jam and cream scone later on. This is really nice. As we get to
00:00:54 --> 00:01:01 know each other as people, we get to know what people like, but not just the positive things.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:09 We also get to know the negative things about people, the things that are more sad than surprising,
00:01:10 --> 00:01:17 the hidden sins, the personal struggles. When you get to know these parts of me, these might
00:01:17 --> 00:01:25 drive you to drive you to anger instead of joy. What about when it comes to God? As we get to know
00:01:25 --> 00:01:35 God, are we surprised that God can be angry, that God can be full of compassion? What if God is not
00:01:35 --> 00:01:46 as we expect him to be? For Jonah, God wasn't what he expected. God showed a character that Jonah was not
00:01:46 --> 00:01:55 very happy about. How do we react when we find out something new about God or when we see a truth?
00:01:55 --> 00:02:02 How do we react when we thought he was going to be different? What happens when we are confronted
00:02:02 --> 00:02:10 with an aspect of God that we weren't prepared for? Do we run and hide? Do we allow God to reveal
00:02:10 --> 00:02:18 himself to find out more about him? As we conclude our series on Jonah today, at the end of mission
00:02:18 --> 00:02:24 month, we are going to be confronted with a God of wrath and a God of compassion.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:31 And we're going to be asking the question, how do we respond as we get to know our God?
00:02:32 --> 00:02:37 And today we're going to be challenged by our view of God and our view of other people.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:42 And we're going to do this in an attempt to understand God better. So as we do this,
00:02:42 --> 00:02:50 let's pray as we look at Jonah chapter 4. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this journey through the
00:02:50 --> 00:02:57 book of Jonah, that you have not only revealed yourself to us through your word, but you reveal
00:02:57 --> 00:03:04 who we are and what we are like as people. Father, help us come before you in dependence upon you.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:11 And Lord, help us not run away when we learn more about you, but run to you instead. Amen.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:19 As we've seen over these four short chapters in the book of Jonah, Jonah has been called by God to go
00:03:19 --> 00:03:27 to Nineveh and preach. Instead, he fled in the opposite direction. And then he was swallowed by a fish.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:36 And finally, he went to Nineveh. He preached about the coming of God's wrath. And Nineveh repented.
00:03:37 --> 00:03:42 They turned from their ways, from the people at the very top of society, the king, all the way down to
00:03:42 --> 00:03:49 the very bottom. This is wonderful. It is great news. God's word has been proclaimed.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:57 And people have listened and responded. It's what every prophet, it's what every preacher dreams and
00:03:57 --> 00:04:03 prays would happen. That people would be confronted by God's word and have their lives impacted.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:12 What better response to Jonah's preaching than the whole entire city repents. They change their ways.
00:04:12 --> 00:04:20 How many prophets and preachers have had that kind of impact? And it's a bit of a surprise that
00:04:20 --> 00:04:26 this book doesn't actually end in chapter 3 with Nineveh repenting and turning to God.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:31 This seems to be the high point of the book. Why did it not end there?
00:04:32 --> 00:04:39 At this point, we think Jonah, he should be joyful. He should be amazed at God's word has been preached
00:04:39 --> 00:04:49 and people have repented. He should be joyful. But he's not. Have a look with me. Jonah chapter 4,
00:04:49 --> 00:05:01 verse 1. But to Jonah, this seemed very wrong. And he became angry. It seems like a bit of a two-year-old
00:05:01 --> 00:05:06 temper tantrum meltdown. Verse 2, he prayed to the Lord,
00:05:06 --> 00:05:12 Isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to
00:05:12 --> 00:05:19 Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in
00:05:19 --> 00:05:26 love, a God who relents from calamity. Jonah is saying, you know, God, I knew you would pull this
00:05:26 --> 00:05:34 kind of stunt. These people are evil. They should have been wiped out. Nothing is going to change.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:40 They're just going to act scared for a little while. And while you show the mercy,
00:05:40 --> 00:05:48 God, you're just hopeless. They don't deserve your love. Your love is for Israel. No one else.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:58 And because you've done this, verse 3, take away my life. It is better for me to die than to live.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:07 Now, this seems like a bit of an overreaction from Jonah. God's grace and mercy to Nineveh has revealed
00:06:07 --> 00:06:13 Jonah's real problem. God has turned out to be a different God than who he thought.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:21 Jonah had built this box and put God in it. Jonah wanted God to be someone who had exclusive love
00:06:21 --> 00:06:28 and compassion for Israel, for his people. And it was wrath and anger for other countries.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:35 He's seen Assyria with its capital at Nineveh. They've risen in power. They've invaded others.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:43 They've been incredibly violent, brutally killing many others. And Jonah wants God to show his wrath to
00:06:43 --> 00:06:50 them and not his love and compassion. That is why in chapter 1, he flees from Nineveh.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:58 He doesn't want God to get the opportunity to relent and show compassion, to reveal his love and mercy.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:06 He was worried that God would show his compassion. And so Jonah's response to God being different,
00:07:06 --> 00:07:13 to not being the God he wanted, is that he wanted to die. Jonah's effectively saying,
00:07:13 --> 00:07:17 God, if you're not going to give me what I want, if you're not going to be the God that I want,
00:07:17 --> 00:07:22 then do you know what? My life has no meaning and it may as well end right now.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:31 Nineveh's repentance was pleasing to God, but it was threatening to Israel's political interests.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:37 They were the massive superpower at the time. They were invading other countries and crushing
00:07:37 --> 00:07:44 other countries. And it was very likely to happen to Israel. And in fact, it would later.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:52 Jonah didn't want Nineveh to repent. He wanted them wiped out as a political enemy. Because Jonah
00:07:52 --> 00:08:00 cared more for his interests, the interests of his people, than for the salvation of this city.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:09 He valued God blessing his country over anyone else. And I think part of this comes down to racism.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:15 We're going to take a brief tangent from Noah. We're going to take a short sidestep. I'm going to
00:08:15 --> 00:08:23 talk about racism for a moment. Firstly, I don't believe that within humanity, there are different
00:08:23 --> 00:08:30 races. I don't believe that there are different races within humanity. I believe that the idea of
00:08:30 --> 00:08:38 race was created to justify one skin color being preferred over another skin color.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:46 And traditionally, the lighter the skin color, the better, the darker, the worse. Racism, race was
00:08:46 --> 00:08:54 created to justify slavery. I believe that there are humans and that within humanity, there are different
00:08:54 --> 00:09:03 ethnicities. Ethnicities are good. Ethnicity is a biblical term. Our ethnicity is actually going to
00:09:03 --> 00:09:09 endure and continue into heaven. We see this in Revelation chapter 7. At the end of all time,
00:09:10 --> 00:09:18 where all nations, tribes and people and languages will be praising God. And this is something that
00:09:18 --> 00:09:24 we love. This is something we celebrate here at St. Paul's, that it is our transcultural identity,
00:09:24 --> 00:09:30 that we are people from different ethnicities and we get to praise God together just like it will be
00:09:30 --> 00:09:37 in heaven. All of our ethnic backgrounds are different and we are all shaped in God's image
00:09:37 --> 00:09:44 and we all, all of our ethnicities have value, but no one culture is the culture. None of us have
00:09:44 --> 00:09:54 the right God culture. God wants all of our ethnicities and all of our cultures to be shaped and grown to be
00:09:54 --> 00:10:02 more like God, to be more like the way He wants us to be. But I think our ethnicity, it is so tightly
00:10:02 --> 00:10:10 related to our identity. You know, for me, I'm an Aussie, I love cricket, you know, we might say I'm
00:10:10 --> 00:10:19 Chinese, I'm Sri Lankan, and we can hold so tightly to our ethnicity that it pits our ethnicity against
00:10:19 --> 00:10:27 somebody else's ethnicity, to somebody else's people group. A proper way of describing racism would be
00:10:27 --> 00:10:35 ethnic pride. My group's way of doing church is the best. My group's food is the best. You know,
00:10:35 --> 00:10:42 Lao Gan Ma, I agree, that stuff is delicious. It's my people's way of doing things is better than your
00:10:42 --> 00:10:51 people's way. It's pride, it's arrogance that is a defense of our people group. And I think it is
00:10:51 --> 00:10:56 something that is very dangerous and it's something that we need to be aware of and to avoid.
00:10:57 --> 00:11:06 Jonah has fallen into a trap of ethnic pride. The God of Israel, His people would have compassion
00:11:06 --> 00:11:15 only for Israel. We need to be aware here as a church that the things we desire to see, the way
00:11:15 --> 00:11:23 we want to see church done, is the best for all of us. And it's not just ethnic preferences. It's not
00:11:23 --> 00:11:31 just my people's way of doing things. It is something that we as a church are journeying towards,
00:11:31 --> 00:11:39 becoming trans-cultural, becoming a culture defined by the cross, as we want to treasure Jesus together.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:47 Now that is a brief but important tangent on racism. Please come and talk to me later about that.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:57 But coming back to Jonah 4 with his problem of racism, he has the audacity to quote God back to God.
00:11:57 --> 00:12:04 The God that he knew that he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love,
00:12:04 --> 00:12:11 in verse 2, it's a quote from Exodus 34 that John Sock read for us before, where God reveals himself to
00:12:11 --> 00:12:20 Moses. And it's interesting because Jonah here, he reads God's words selectively. He ignores the last part,
00:12:21 --> 00:12:26 which says from Exodus 34, yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:32 Jonah just remembered the part about God's love and compassion and said,
00:12:32 --> 00:12:37 I knew you were that kind of God and I didn't want you to be that kind of God to Nineveh.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:44 He forgot that God was also a God of wrath who would punish those who are guilty.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:52 He uses God's words to justify his position of anger, but he doesn't read the whole paragraph.
00:12:52 --> 00:12:55 He just chops out a verse at the end that he doesn't like.
00:12:56 --> 00:13:01 He forgets who God revealed himself to be. And he makes himself look silly.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:07 It's very dangerous to pit God's word against God.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:12 One of the other people, I think it's the only other person in the Bible,
00:13:12 --> 00:13:17 guilty of twisting and quoting God's word against God is Satan himself.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:23 Remember in the Garden of Eden, Satan twists God's word to Adam and Eve,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:27 and he does it again to Jesus, tempting Jesus.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:35 While Jonah had been down a couple of chapters ago in rock bottom when he was in the belly of the fish,
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 he saw his need for God's grace.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:52 Jonah has forgotten God's word and only remembered part of it that he liked.
00:13:53 --> 00:14:00 And he's created a simplistic picture of God who just loves everyone without any judgment on evil.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:05 He was so worried that God's character of compassion, he fled instead.
00:14:05 --> 00:14:09 This is a danger for us.
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 This was a prophet who spoke with God himself,
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 who forgot about what he said,
00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 and then got so angry with God he wanted to die.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 How much more careful do we need to be there?
00:14:24 --> 00:14:28 Our God is bigger than we know.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 He is more complicated than we know.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 We can't put him into a box like Jonah did.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:39 We can't simplify him into a stereotype of a God who doesn't judge but only loves.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:45 It is possible to use the Bible selectively to justify our actions,
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 to create a version of God that suits us.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:58 It's possible to read the Bible selectively confirm our opinions against those who don't follow Jesus,
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 or those who are different to us,
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 or those who don't hold the same views.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:06 It's easy to think that our understanding of God,
00:15:06 --> 00:15:10 our theology is superior to anyone else's.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 It can be easy to read the Bible and think,
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 yes, I'm right.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 I always knew I was right.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:21 You know, we shouldn't have voted that party in last week.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 Or I'm so glad we did vote that party in last week.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:30 If we read the Bible and it makes us feel that we are right,
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 that we are righteous,
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 we are reading it wrong.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 Go to the book of Romans.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:42 Be reminded of our sin and our dependence on God.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 When we read the Bible, it should humble us.
00:15:47 --> 00:15:50 It should change how we view our God.
00:15:50 --> 00:15:54 It should encourage us with God's love and grace despite our flaws.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:59 It should remind us that our God is loving and compassionate and generous
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 more than we could even know.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:05 As we draw closer to God throughout our lives,
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 His different aspects will be revealed to us.
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 Our God doesn't change,
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 but our understanding of Him does.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 Back in February earlier in the year,
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 we did a month-long series on prayer.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 And ever since that,
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 I've been reading through the Psalms.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 I aim for every night to read a Psalm
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 and then to pray through that Psalm.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 And there was this one week,
00:16:30 --> 00:16:30 I can't remember,
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 it was maybe about two months ago,
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 where every single night,
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 the Psalm was about the same thing.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 It was about David praising God
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 about how great God was.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 And let me surprise you
00:16:45 --> 00:16:48 by you all getting to know me a little bit more
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 and getting to know my sinful heart a little bit more.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 After a week of the same theme,
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 praying about how great God was,
00:16:56 --> 00:16:59 I was sick of it.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 I just kind of had had enough with that theme
00:17:03 --> 00:17:03 and thought,
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 it's time to move on to something else, David.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 I had a moment of being in bed.
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 It was about 11 o'clock at night,
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 I remember it.
00:17:11 --> 00:17:14 And I was just in that in-between stage
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 between reading the Psalm,
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 meditating on it,
00:17:18 --> 00:17:18 and then praying.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 So I was in this in-between stage
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 and I was just grumpy.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:26 Not full-blown Jonah angry,
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 I want to die.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:31 But I was just a bit annoyed with God.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:35 Ah, why do I need to praise God again?
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 I've had a week of this.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 Come on.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:43 And I sat in this funk for a minute.
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 And then God hit me.
00:17:46 --> 00:17:48 I can't describe it as anything other than God
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 just revealing himself to me in that moment.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:53 That he is so awesome
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 and he is so amazing
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 that he deserves not just a couple of minutes
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 of a week's night of prayer,
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 he deserves every moment of praise.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 He deserves to be praised every day.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 Every moment of my life.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 And in that brief moment,
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 my view of God was changed.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:16 Now, I knew he deserved all the praise before that,
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 but God surprised me.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:21 Our view of God will change,
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 not because he changes,
00:18:24 --> 00:18:29 but because we seek to grow and move closer to him.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 And when we do that,
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 we can see him more clearly.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 Are you growing closer to God?
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 Have you had your view of God challenged?
00:18:39 --> 00:18:43 Have you been surprised at God's wrath against sin?
00:18:44 --> 00:18:48 Have you been surprised by God's love and compassion?
00:18:49 --> 00:18:49 Brothers and sisters,
00:18:49 --> 00:18:52 let me encourage you to do something like what I've been doing,
00:18:52 --> 00:18:57 which is trying to spend some time in prayer every single night,
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 going through the Psalms.
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 That's been wonderful for me
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 so that I can be getting to know God better.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 Jonah's been angry with God,
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 and now we see God respond.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 Have a look with me.
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 Chapter 4, verse 4.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 Is it right for you to be angry?
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 God starts to deal differently with Jonah here.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 When Jonah fled,
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 God was very firm with him.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 He sent a storm to him.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 He was thrown into the ocean,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 swallowed by a fish.
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 Now,
00:19:25 --> 00:19:28 God deals gently and patiently.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 It's like a parent who started with,
00:19:30 --> 00:19:30 you know,
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 go clean your room.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:32 Come on, man.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 Come on.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:33 I'll help you.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 He's changed his tack,
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 and he asks him the type of question
00:19:39 --> 00:19:42 a therapist might pose to someone.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 Is it good?
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 Is it right for you to be angry?
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 And Jonah doesn't respond to God's gentle prodding.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:50 Instead, verse 5,
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 he heads out of the city,
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 and he sits down.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 It seems that Jonah,
00:19:55 --> 00:19:57 still angry with God,
00:19:57 --> 00:19:59 he's gone and sat down outside of the city,
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 maybe to see what would happen.
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 God has decided to relent,
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 to show compassion and mercy.
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 Maybe these people would slip up.
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 Maybe they would change.
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 Maybe they wouldn't stay repenting.
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 Maybe they were going to revert to their own old ways,
00:20:14 --> 00:20:16 and God is going to send a meteor against them.
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 And I want to be here to watch that happen.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 Maybe that's Jonah's motive
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 for sitting outside the city.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 Making his stay more comfortable,
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 God sends a plant.
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 A plant grows up.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 It's a big leafy plant
00:20:32 --> 00:20:35 that grows up and gives Jonah shade.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 It eases his pain.
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 It makes him happy.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:42 And after a horrid couple of chapters,
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 he's fled from God.
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 He's been on a ship in the middle of a storm.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 He's been in the belly of a fish,
00:20:47 --> 00:20:47 spat out,
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 preaching repentance to a city
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 who didn't want it.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 Now he has a moment of joy
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 and happiness and peace.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:57 It's that moment of finally sitting down
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 with a tea or a coffee
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 and taking that first sip.
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 Oh, joy.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 But verse 7,
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 At dawn the next day,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06 God provided a worm
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 which chewed the plant
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 so that it withered.
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 When the sun rose,
00:21:11 --> 00:21:14 God provided a scorching east wind,
00:21:14 --> 00:21:16 and the sun blazed on Jonah's head
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 so that he grew faint.
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 He wanted to die
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 and said,
00:21:20 --> 00:21:22 It would be better for me to die than to live.
00:21:22 --> 00:21:25 Jonah placated for a moment.
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 He is now angry to die again.
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 Angry enough to die.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 Life was good for those,
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 you know,
00:21:33 --> 00:21:33 couple of moments
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35 with that plant over his head.
00:21:35 --> 00:21:37 He couldn't even leave me in peace.
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 It seems God has done
00:21:40 --> 00:21:42 all of this in preparation
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 for God to teach Jonah
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 something about who God is.
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 This is the moment
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 that the book has been leading up to.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:52 God asks him again,
00:21:53 --> 00:21:55 Is it right for you to be angry
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 about this plant?
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 Jonah sulking,
00:21:59 --> 00:22:01 I can't help but picture him like a child,
00:22:02 --> 00:22:02 arms crossed,
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 humping around.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 It is.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 It is right for me to be angry,
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 and I want to die.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:12 God reveals something about himself
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 in verse 10.
00:22:13 --> 00:22:15 But the Lord said,
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 You have been concerned
00:22:16 --> 00:22:18 about this plant,
00:22:18 --> 00:22:20 though you did not tend it
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 or make it grow.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:23 It sprang up overnight
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 and died overnight.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:27 And should I not have concern
00:22:27 --> 00:22:29 for the great city of Nineveh,
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 in which there are more than
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 120 people
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34 who cannot tell their right hand
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 from their left?
00:22:35 --> 00:22:37 Jonah had compassion
00:22:37 --> 00:22:40 and wept over a plant.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:43 God has compassion
00:22:43 --> 00:22:46 over a city of people.
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 Jonah became attached
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 to a plant
00:22:49 --> 00:22:51 that he had nothing to do with.
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 He didn't even water it,
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 but his heart was attached
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 to it in some way,
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 so that when it was destroyed,
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 he was destroyed too.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 God says that he does
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 the same thing
00:23:02 --> 00:23:04 with this city of Nineveh.
00:23:05 --> 00:23:07 He attaches his compassion,
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 his concern,
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 and his heart
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 to these people.
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 Jonah,
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 because he's a human,
00:23:14 --> 00:23:16 attaches his love
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 and affection
00:23:16 --> 00:23:18 and his emotional dependence
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 to a plant.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 He didn't look at it
00:23:20 --> 00:23:22 and make a mental choice.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 Oh, this plant
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 is giving me shade.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 I'm going to choose
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 to love it.
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 It's leafy and green.
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 It meets his need
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 and he gets attached.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:33 If you've ever seen
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 the TV show
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 with Marie Kondo
00:23:35 --> 00:23:37 about cleaning clutter
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 out of your house,
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 this is what she is
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 working against.
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 You know,
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 we get attached to things
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 and we need to,
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 you know,
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 get rid of them.
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 Alyssa and I
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 have been cleaning out things.
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 We cleaned out
00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 a lot of coffee mugs recently
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 and it was really difficult
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 because I was attached to them.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 Didn't use a lot of them.
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 You know,
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 this is like one coffee mug I use.
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 We have so many novelty coffee mugs
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 that we just ended up
00:24:01 --> 00:24:01 throwing out.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 But I find them hard
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 because I attach myself to them.
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 But God doesn't need anything.
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 God doesn't need a coffee mug
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 that says,
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 world's best God.
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 He doesn't need a plant
00:24:13 --> 00:24:15 to give him happiness.
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 He doesn't need people.
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 God doesn't need
00:24:19 --> 00:24:21 to get attached to things
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 for no reason.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 God is totally happy
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 within himself,
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 within the Trinity.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 The love between the Father
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 and the Son
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 and the Holy Spirit,
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 that is enough
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 because that is love.
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 He doesn't need anything.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:37 The only reason
00:24:37 --> 00:24:37 that he can
00:24:37 --> 00:24:39 love other things
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 and show compassion to them
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 is because
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 he wants to.
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 God willingly chooses
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 the things
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 that he will attach
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 his love to
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 and compassion
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 and grace.
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 It's amazing
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 that the God
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 who created
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 the universes,
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 the stars,
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 the galaxies,
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 the planets,
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 who can say,
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 I care
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 about these little people
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 on this little rock.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 what happens
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 to them
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 moves
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 and grieves
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 me.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 God is saying
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 to Jonah,
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 I am weeping
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 and grieving
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 over this city.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 Why aren't you?
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 If you are my prophet,
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 why don't you
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 have compassion?
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 Because
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 the reality of it
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 is Jonah
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 is just not
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 a very good prophet.
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 prophet.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 And Jesus
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 is the prophet
00:25:28 --> 00:25:30 that Jonah
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 leaves us
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 wanting him to be.
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 Jonah didn't
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 weep for the city.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 He left it
00:25:35 --> 00:25:37 and was angry.
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 He went outside
00:25:38 --> 00:25:38 of it
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 hoping to see
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 its destruction.
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 If he'd stayed
00:25:41 --> 00:25:43 and kept
00:25:43 --> 00:25:43 preaching
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 to this city,
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 maybe
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 they would have
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 followed God
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 and not
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 just briefly.
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 Jesus went
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 into the city
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 unlike Jonah.
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 He went
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 into Jerusalem
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 and he wept
00:25:57 --> 00:25:59 over those
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 who would not
00:26:00 --> 00:26:00 follow.
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 Jesus
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 didn't stay
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 outside.
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 He went
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 into the city
00:26:05 --> 00:26:07 and he
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 was destroyed.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 He died
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 on a cross
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 so that the city,
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 so that we
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 could be saved.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:15 God has
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 chosen to
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 concern himself
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 to attach
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 his joys
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 and his pains
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 to us.
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 So much
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 so that he
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 became like us.
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 He became
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 human,
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 able to
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 weep with us,
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 able to
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 laugh with us
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 out of
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 compassion.
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 He not only
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 grieved to
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 see people
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 lost,
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 but was
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 subject to
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 the agonizing
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 pain of
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 crucifixion
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 to take
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 our place.
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 Jonah,
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 full of
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 racism
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 and self-righteousness,
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 cannot imagine
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 God saving
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 anyone else.
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 Jesus,
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 full of
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 love
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 and selflessness,
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 cannot do
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 anything but
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 sacrifice himself
00:26:58 --> 00:27:00 to save
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 people far
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 from God.
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 Jonah
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 wanted to
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 hate,
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 wanted God
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 to hate the
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 foreigner and
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 only have
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 compassion on
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 Israel,
00:27:09 --> 00:27:11 but God's
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 surprise character
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 should not have
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 been a surprise.
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 What surprises
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 him is how
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 his wrath and
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 compassion play
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 out together.
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 For us,
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 are we surprised
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 that our God
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 is a God of
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 wrath who will
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 judge the
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 guilty,
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 or that he is a
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 God of
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 compassion who
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 will show
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 mercy?
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 I've often
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 heard people
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 pit the God
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 of the Old
00:27:33 --> 00:27:35 Testament against
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 the God of
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 the New
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 Testament.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 The God of
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 the Old
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 Testament,
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 he's all about
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 wrath,
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 and the God
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 of the New
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 Testament,
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 he's all about
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 love and
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 mercy.
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 Many people
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 in the West
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 would expect
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 God to be
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 a God of
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 mercy,
00:27:48 --> 00:27:50 because we
00:27:50 --> 00:27:50 find it hard
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 to accept that
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 God should
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 judge people.
00:27:54 --> 00:27:54 Maybe you've
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 thought that
00:27:55 --> 00:27:55 yourself.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 Other people
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 who come from
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 maybe a
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 damaged or
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 war-torn
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 area,
00:28:01 --> 00:28:03 they have a
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 background where
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 they want to
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 see God
00:28:05 --> 00:28:07 bring justice
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 and wrath
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 who punishes
00:28:09 --> 00:28:09 those who do
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 evil.
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 that person
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 can be
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 surprised at
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 God's free
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 offer of
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 forgiveness.
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 Ultimately,
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 God binds
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 these two
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 seemingly
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 contradictory
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 parts of
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 his wrath
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 and his
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 compassion
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 together,
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 and they're
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 combined in
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 the cross,
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 the place
00:28:29 --> 00:28:29 where his
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 wrath is
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 carried out
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 on his
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 son,
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 so that
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 his compassion
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 and love
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 can be shown
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 to us.
00:28:35 --> 00:28:38 The story
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 of Jonah
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 has a bit
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 of a strange
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 ending.
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 After God
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 gently prods
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 Jonah to
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 have compassion
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 on the right
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 things,
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 we don't hear
00:28:47 --> 00:28:47 any more.
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 We don't find
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 out what
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 happens to
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 Jonah.
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 I wonder
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 if it's
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 possible that
00:28:54 --> 00:28:56 God surprised
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 him with his
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 compassion for
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 the Ninevites,
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 and Jonah
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 went away
00:29:00 --> 00:29:02 and repented.
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 I wonder if
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 he was changed
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 and that led
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 him to write
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 this book.
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 I wonder.
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 The question
00:29:10 --> 00:29:12 at the end
00:29:12 --> 00:29:14 leaves us
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 to ask
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 ourselves and
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 to put
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 ourselves into
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 that very
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 place.
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 Will we
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 respond like
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 Jonah?
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 Will we
00:29:22 --> 00:29:24 be angry
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 out of racist
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 national arrogance?
00:29:28 --> 00:29:28 Will we see
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 God's compassion
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 on other
00:29:30 --> 00:29:32 people to be
00:29:32 --> 00:29:32 sent to preach
00:29:32 --> 00:29:34 a word of
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 compassion and
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 repentance?
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 Will we
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 not just see
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 mission month
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 to be something
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 that is nearly
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 finished,
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 mission month's
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 nearly over,
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 but as
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 something to
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 spur us on
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 for the year
00:29:43 --> 00:29:45 to see God's
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 message of
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 repentance go
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 forth to this
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 city and to
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 the world?
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 Will we let
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 our own
00:29:52 --> 00:29:54 expectations of
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 who God is
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 get in the
00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 way of
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 revealing,
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 of God
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 revealing himself
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 to us?
00:29:59 --> 00:30:01 let me pray
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 for us.
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 Dearest
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 Heavenly
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 Father,
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 we thank
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 you for
00:30:08 --> 00:30:08 how you
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 have indeed
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 revealed your
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 compassion and
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 your mercy and
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 your love to
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 people who do
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 not deserve it
00:30:15 --> 00:30:15 that it invites.
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 And Lord,
00:30:17 --> 00:30:17 we thank you
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 that you have
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 revealed that to
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 us as well,
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 people who are
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 not deserving of
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 your love.
00:30:22 --> 00:30:24 Father,
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 we ask that we
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 would continue to
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 get to know
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 you, to know
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 who you are as
00:30:29 --> 00:30:31 our God, that
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 you are a God
00:30:31 --> 00:30:33 who will punish
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 the unjust,
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 but you also
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 show us mercy
00:30:37 --> 00:30:39 in the cross so
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 that we can be
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 brought into your
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 family.
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 Heavenly Father,
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 help us to
00:30:44 --> 00:30:44 continue to
00:30:44 --> 00:30:46 journey to get
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 to know you,
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 to love you
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 more, to
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 praise you
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 more, and to
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 have a
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 willingness, a
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 desire,
00:30:52 --> 00:30:54 to see your
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 compassion and
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 mercy spread out
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 from here into
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 Chatswood, into
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 Sydney, and
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 across the world.
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 And we ask
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 this in your
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 Son's name and
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 for your glory.
00:31:03 --> 00:31:03 Amen.