A Reflection From Jonah

This passage today shows us God commissioning Jonah for a 2nd time, to go to the people of Ninevah and proclaim His word. Many of us know what happened the first time God instructed Jonah. . . He ran away, was eaten by a whale and was humbled in a very real and painful way.

Here in chapter 3, we see God giving Jonah a 2nd chance. . . The mission hadn't changed, the message hadn't changed, and despite Jonah's initial disobedience, the messenger hadn't changed.

You see the Devil doesn't waste his time trying to convince the Christian that there is no God. . . the biggest lie the devil tells you is that you aren't good enough to serve God. He tells you that you have nothing to offer, or that you have failed too many times in the past that you have no place in the church or in serving God's kingdom.

These lies are the chains the devil wraps around the Christian who is struggling with doubt, shame, and regret. But as we see here in Jonah, and in fact throughout the entire Bible, that even though we aren't good enough, or strong enough, even when we get it wrong. . . the mission doesn't change, the message doesn't change, and the messenger doesn't change.

God still wants to use every single one of us regardless of where we have been or what we have done. All we have to do is believe that fact! And I know that's easier said than done. We all have things that we need to work through and allow God to heal and restore, but we can't let these things stop us from fulfilling God's plans for our lives.

Even the Apostle Paul knew this when he wrote in 1 timothy "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. "

Paul wasn't hiding the fact that he had things to work through or had a past. . . he pressed on despite those things and that's a message for all of us here today, me included. . . that in spite of our weaknesses, God still wants to use us. He wants to turn our mess into a message and our tests into testimonies.

When Jonah got the opportunity to do things right this time, we can see in verse 3 that Jonah arose and went to Ninevah according to the word of the lord.

Jonah had a difficult message to bring to the people of Nineveh. Verse 4 tells us that Jonah announced "in 40 days, Nineveh shall be overthrown". . .

It wasn't a message of "Good news" or of hope. . . Jonah was telling the people of their imminent destruction.

Sometimes we too have a tough message to tell. The message of repentance has a happy ending, don't get me wrong, but we first have to tell people difficult bit. . . that a change needs to happen in their hearts and in their minds. That they have to let go of the former things, that the Holy Spirit will make a transformation in their lives that might not always be comfortable or easy. And we will hear about this in our sermon in Church today as we look at Hosea.

If we jump to verse 10 however in chapter 3 of Jonah, we see that it was all worth while. God saw the heart of the people in Nineveh, that they had turned from their ways and God delivered them from destruction.

Jonah didn't know that God would do that. He only had the first part of the instructions he wasn't given the whole picture. Jonah was just commanded to be faithful in delivering the call to repentance and God took care of the rest as He so often does.

And the same goes for us. God calls us to the first part, to be faithful, to put our trust in Him and to be obedient in the things He has called us to do, even when we don't see the full picture. However, we have scripture and testimony we can look at to see God moving in the ways that He does. . . We have scripture telling us again and again of the goodness of God. Showing us the times He has rescued His people from certain destruction. That is why it is so important for us to remind ourselves of these stories in scripture, because they are where we can find hope and strength when we are faced with the difficult things. When we have tough choices to make, or when we have things in our life that are holding us back. . . we need to look to God's word, remind ourselves of His promises, and find our hope in Him who is able to break the yoke of the enemy and deliver us from the hands of the oppressor.

Jonah had a job to do. . . Paul had a Job to do. . . and we have a job to do. . . as believers in Christ and the work of the cross. . . we have a role to play in God's coming Kingdom.

Whilst I was away in Dublin last weekend, I got talking to a group and we were discussing "How do we really see a move of God in our Churches and our parishes?". . . my answer was simple. . . it has to start with repentance.

At times in the past where there has been a move of God's Spirit, it has always followed a time of seeking God's will and repentance. A time where a group of people have not been happy with their current or previous positions and want to move in a different direction. And if we want to see God's Spirit blow through our Churches and parishes, then we need to ask ourselves a question?

Are we happy with where we are right now?

Some might answer yes, some might say mostly, or some might say no. . .

And if the answer is no, then the next question that has to follow is "What are we prepared to do about it?". . . Again, some might not be prepared to do anything, some might run like Jonah did, or some might leave their boats and their nets and follow immediately.

Let me ask these questions of you. . . are you happy with where your walk with Jesus is right now? Do you feel you are serving Him and walking with Him in every area? Are you happy with where Church is? Are we seeking the lost and the broken to give them the good news of Christ? Are we hoping for a move of the spirit that this church has never seen before?

These questions aren't here to condemn, but I do pray that they make us uncomfortable. . . because only then will we be led to think about these things and that's the start of the journey towards change. Repentance is the key to walking in God's kingdom and the hope and joy that comes with it.

I pray today that we begin that journey of searching our hearts. I pray that we are encouraged to go deeper in our faith, and I pray, that when we see God's vision for the church, that we grab it with both hands and pray "let your kingdom come and your will be done for this church as it is in heaven".

In Jesus Name

Amen.