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The Most Efficient and Effective Sermon Ever (Jonah 3)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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As we do come to the word, let's take the word
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and open it. And open it to Jonah chapter three.
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We're simply picking up where we left off. Having
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looked at Jonah two last time, and we noted in
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Jonah two that Jonah finally did. the thing that
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he should have been doing the whole time. He
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finally, in the belly of the fish, he prays,
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doesn't he? God speaks to the fish and the fish
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spits him out onto dry land. And so we see that
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God is not finished with the prophet Jonah. And
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this is very important for us to understand because
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Maybe you've felt like this before. Have you
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ever, have you ever struggled with a sin that
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just, it just seems to never go away. You continually
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fall into temptation, right? And you begin to
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wonder, maybe you have, does God still love me?
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Does God, can he still use me? What will he do
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with me? Surely he won't do anything with me.
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I continue to sin daily and thoughtward indeed.
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God doesn't love me anymore. God can't use me
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anymore. Well, friends, Jonah, the prophet, is
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here to show you something different than that.
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Because God, our God, is the God of second chances
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and third chances and fourth and fifth and on
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up. And so God's not finished with Jonah and
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Christian. God's not finished with you either.
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Let's read the text Jonah 3 Then the word of
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the Lord came to Jonah the second time saying
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arise Go to Nineveh that great city and call
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out against it the message that I tell you and
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so Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according
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to the word of the Lord now Nineveh was an exceedingly
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great city, three days journey in breadth. Jonah
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began to go into the city, going a day's journey.
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And he called out, yet 40 days and Nineveh shall
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be overthrown. And the people of Nineveh believed
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God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth
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from the greatest of them to the least of them.
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The word reached the king of Nineveh. And he
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arose from his throne. He removed his robe, covered
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himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And
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he issued a proclamation and published through
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Nineveh. By the decree of the king and his nobles,
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let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste
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anything. Let them not feed or drink water. But
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let man and beast be covered with sackcloth.
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and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone
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turn from his evil way and from the violence
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that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn
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and relent and turn from his fierce anger so
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that we may not perish. When God saw what they
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did, how they turned from their evil way, God
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relented of the disaster that he had said he
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would do to them. And he did not. The grass withers
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and the flower fades, but God's word stands forever.
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Let's pray. Oh, Father, we do thank you for this
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word. It is such an encouraging word to us that
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even as we see the faults of Jonah, we recognize
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that you are still at work and this is how you
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operate. You operate through people who do struggle
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with sin. Lord today as we look at this we realize
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how desperately we need your help We need your
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help to understand this and we need your help
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to apply it And so would you give us all of that
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we pray for Christ's sake amen. I Said a week
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or two ago That the most miraculous miracle in
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the book of Jonah is not that a prophet survived
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in the belly of a fish. That's not the greatest
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miracle here. Chapter 3 shows us the greatest
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miracle here. The changing of the hearts of all
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of the people in a very large city and not just
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the people here. Even the animals are mentioned
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as well. Jonah goes to the city of Nineveh. And
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he proclaims what the Lord has him to proclaim.
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And I'm calling this the most efficient and the
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most effective sermon ever, because again, we're
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looking at the repentance of an entire city and
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a city that was known for its cruelty, a city
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known for its violence, a city known for worshiping
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idols. But God is merciful and he turns them
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from these things. Today I want to look at Jonah's
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commission, Nineveh's repentance, and God's compassion.
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Let's look at the commission first there. Go
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to verse two. Arise, go to Nineveh. Perhaps at
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this point you're having some deja vu going on.
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You're like, I've read these words before. Well,
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if you look in chapter one, you do see these
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words. Chapter one, verse two. Arise, go to Nineveh,
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that great city. And so we have heard this before.
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And so what we recognize is that, yes, Jonah
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was saved from drowning, but Jonah is not saved
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from the mission that God has for him. And so
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arise, go to Nineveh. Now, we don't exactly know
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where the fish spat the prophet out. It could
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have been somewhere near Joppa. It could have
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been anywhere along the coast. But either way,
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we recognize then that Jonah has a ways to go
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to get to Nineveh, no doubt. He had a lot of
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thinking to do on his journey there. And we've
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already seen this in chapter one, how Jonah did
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not want to go, right? And we also mentioned
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how it's not very common in the Bible for these
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Old Testament prophets to be sent to these wicked
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nations. Most of the work of the prophets against
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the nations is done from home. Think of it as
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early remote work, right? Working from home.
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That's what usually happens, but not so with
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Jonah. He gets spat out of the fish and then
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he receives the exact same mission. Don't go
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to some other place. I'm still intending for
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you to go. to Nineveh. And we've said that this
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is a cruel place, so no judgment from us, right?
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We're like, I don't want to go there either.
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But also notice something with this commissioning
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here. It is a little bit different from chapter
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one. Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and
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call out against it the message that I tell you.
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That second part of the verse there is not present
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in the first. So this tells us here that God's
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going to give Jonah the exact words to say. In
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effect, Jonah has everything he needs. He's got
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the where, Nineveh. He's got the when, right
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now. And he's got the what. He's got the message.
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And so he goes there to proclaim the word of
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God. verse 4. Yet 40 days in Nineveh shall be
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overthrown. Now I don't know if the people of
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Nineveh would have understand the 40 -day motif,
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but Israelites would and Christians who know
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their Bibles would. We see this motif of 40 days
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several other places in Scripture. For instance,
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you remember the Great Flood. You remember Noah
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in the boat, right? Genesis six through nine.
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And how long is that flood? It's going on for
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40 days. You also may remember the Israelites
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with the golden calf. After Moses learns about
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this, he is with the Lord interceding for the
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Israelites for 40 days. You can find that in
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Deuteronomy. Chapter nine. And so both of those
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events involve judgment. They both involve 40
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days and they both involve great populations
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of people and even animals. And so we see some
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significance here in some relation to other scripture.
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Also, look at this word, though, for overthrow
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at the end of verse four. That word overthrow
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is very significant. It's the same word that
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is used in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
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And so the message there was of judgment. And
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here within the book of Jonah, for Nineveh, it's
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destruction or it's repentance. What's it gonna
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be? What do you want? To be destroyed or to repent?
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And so we see what happens here. The people of
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Nineveh do turn from their sin. and they turn
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to the Lord. So let's look at point two, Nineveh's
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confession. We see what happens in verse five.
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And the people of Nineveh believed God. They
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believed God and their actions show it, which
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shows us something that is essential for preaching
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and teaching the Bible. Preaching of the word
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must connect with the heart. Preaching of the
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Word must connect with the heart. That's what's
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happening now in this sanctuary. That's what's
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happening now in sanctuaries all across the world.
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That as preachers preach, they're not just sharing
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information. This is not just head knowledge.
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This is not a TED Talk. This is not a lecture,
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right? It's a sermon. And the Holy Spirit works
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through the preaching of God's Word. You perhaps
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remember Romans 10, 17. Faith comes by hearing
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and hearing by the word of Christ. And so do
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not just receive this message with your head.
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It must resonate within your heart. It must be
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received with faith. And if you were to examine
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the sermons throughout scripture, you would see
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this. you would see that there's not power in
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the preacher. It's not about his greatness. If
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it was, you'd need a new preacher. Instead, the
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Holy Spirit works faith into the hearts of people.
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The Holy Spirit is the one encouraging and convicting
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and comforting and equipping. The Holy Spirit
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works through the preaching of the word. Years
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ago, I worked for a Christian camp and I've...
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told many of you about this place that I love.
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But one time working there, I was asked to preach
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kind of a last minute chapel service, not to
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campers, but to counselors, staff members. Again,
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it was very last minute. I hadn't had any preaching
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courses in seminary. I didn't know what I was
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doing, but they needed somebody to step up and
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perhaps foolishly I said, yes. And as I got into
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the pulpit that day, and again, this is a very
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small gathering in a chapel up in the mountains,
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as I was behind that lectern and I started to
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preach, and I couldn't even tell you what the
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text was or anything about the sermon, but I
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just knew this is the worst sermon anybody's
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ever preached ever. All I wanted was for it to
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be done. All I wanted was to get out of the chapel
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and for nobody to say anything ever about this
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sermon. As I concluded the sermon with prayer
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and singing, I made a beeline for the door. Just
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when I was about to step outside the door, a
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staff member caught me and said, can we talk?
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And she said, that really helped me. That really
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helped me. I'm dealing with some stuff right
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now I'm dealing with some serious sin issues
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some serious family issues your sermon helped,
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but but can we keep talking? Of course I said
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sure You see the Holy Spirit works Even when
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the preacher doesn't want to do the work, right?
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What preachers really need to do and I would
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say this applies to teachers whether you're teaching
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adult Sunday school or maybe you're with the
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kids What the preacher the teacher needs to do
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is preach the word and then get out of the way
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Preach the word and get out of the way and that's
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what Jonah does. He preaches what the Lord says
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We have only this just sentence to go on I don't
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know if he added anything to this I kind of think
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what's here in the text is all he preached all
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he said So this is not a carefully crafted sermon.
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There is no scintillating illustration here.
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There's no joke There's no three points. There's
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no alliteration. Jonah simply speaks what the
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Lord would have him to speak. He is obedient
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to the Lord because there's power in the word.
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And friends, this is how the Bible teaches preachers
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to preach. Perhaps you know this text from Second
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Timothy four, verse two. It says, preach the
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word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove,
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rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and
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teaching. We are to preach the word. You are
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to teach the word. And you see the response of
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the people of Nineveh when that happens. They
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respond in repentance. In effect, the very thing
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that Jonah didn't really want to happen does
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happen because God works through the Word, even
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when the preacher doesn't want to preach it,
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because God's Word will not return void. It produces
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the effect that God wants it to produce. And
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so you see the response of the people here. There's
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the calling for the fast. There's the putting
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on of the sackcloth, right? And this happens
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from everybody, from the greatest to the least,
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even all the way up to the very king. And you
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see that the king is brought to humility, right?
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He exchanges his throne for a seat in ashes.
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He exchanges his robe for sackcloth. And then
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he makes this proclamation, nobody, no man, no
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beast, you are not to taste anything. Some of
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you have animals. Some of you work on a bit of
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a farm. How difficult must it be to keep the
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animals from tasting anything? Think about how
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this would disrupt the entire economy for animals
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to not be allowed to eat or to drink. They are
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taking this so seriously. And you might even
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say, well, why? The animals... They're not the
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ones who sinned here. They're not responsible
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for the immorality. Well, they may not be responsible,
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but the animals surely are affected by it. And
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yet, as we have said before in the book of Jonah,
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we see all of creation responding positively
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to the Lord, right? We have mentioned that. With
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the fish, we've mentioned that as God brings
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up this great windstorm. We're gonna see that
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in chapter four with this plant and this worm.
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Everything complies with what the Lord wants.
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And now Jonah finally is two. And so you see
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what happens in verse eight. They are responding
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to this proclamation and the king is saying,
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Let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and
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let them call out mightily to God. Once again,
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we see the importance of prayer within the book
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of Jonah. But I also think it's interesting within
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Jonah's words, the words that the Lord gives
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him to say, he doesn't have to say what is wrong
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with the people of Nineveh. He doesn't say what
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their sin is. How come he doesn't have to? They
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know it they know what their problem is and so
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rather than the prophet saying what their problem
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is the king does that let everyone turn from
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his evil way it says and from the violence that
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is in his hand and so they are to leave that
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sin that violence that cruelty in the past and
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They are to turn to God and that's what they
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do Friends, we know, because we've discussed
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it, what their problem was, what their sins were.
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What about us? What are the sins that you are
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battling today? What's going on in your hearts?
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Is it envy? Is it deceit? Is it lust? Is it gossip?
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Is it disobeying parents? Is that idolatry? What
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is it, friends? I don't know, but I can tell
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you the solution to these things. If you would,
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go to James chapter 4. Turn to James chapter
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4. James is in the New Testament. It's right
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after Hebrews. This is going to tell us whatever
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sin you are battling against, this tells you
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what to do about it. James chapter four, verses
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eight through 10. And I would encourage you to
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take time on this Lord's Day to further consider
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these words. It says, draw near to God, and he
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will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you
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sinners, and purify your hearts, you double -minded.
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Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter
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be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom Humble
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yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt
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you And so even as maybe most of that doesn't
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sound so positive doesn't sound so fun. We see
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the hope of that passage Draw near to God and
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he'll draw near to you And so you see, this is
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what Nineveh is doing. Even the king here, he
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doesn't seem to have assurance that God will
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relent, but he knows that they in this city,
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they must do everything to turn from sin. And
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this tells us that sometimes, even when we do
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repent, which we must do, we still sometimes
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have to face the music, don't we? There can still
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be consequences for sin even after we turn from
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it But there is hope here Because you can be
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sure That when you draw near to God in faith
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in Christ When you truly repent of your sin,
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you can know that God really does forgive you
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because he sent his one and only begotten son
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for this This is why Jesus came. And so today,
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if you're listening, maybe you're online, maybe
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you're here. If you don't know Jesus, if you
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have not turned in faith to Jesus, be a Ninevite.
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Be a Ninevite and not one of the cruel ones,
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not a violent one, but a repentant one. Whether
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you're among the least or you're among the greatest,
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whether you're a man or a beast today, know that
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Jesus came to forgive sin. And be assured of
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it. Look in verse 10. Look in verse 10 for God's
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compassion here. When God saw what they did,
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how they turned from their evil way, God relented
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of the disaster that he had said he would do
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to them. And he did not do it. Repent and relent.
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This is clearly the work of God's mercy. These
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people were cruel. They were idolaters. And Jonah
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was a complete stranger, right? Why should they
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listen to Jonah? This should not be the recipe
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for repentance. Cruel, violent people, stranger
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walks in, says repent, and they do it. That doesn't
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make any sense by the world's standards, does
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it? But God works by his word, and he is compassionate
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to forgive those who repent. And God is trustworthy
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here, because as he said, he would relent. That's
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exactly what he does. When they turned from sin,
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he did not destroy them. I was thinking a lot
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about this this week, and I want to put a question
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into your head. How would the story of Jonah
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be different if you didn't have the first two
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chapters? How would the story of Jonah be different
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without the first two chapters? Suppose Jonah
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had immediate obedience. that as soon as the
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Lord told him, arise and go to Nineveh, he was
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like, yep, okay, here I go. What if we didn't
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have those first two chapters? Why do we even
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need those first two chapters? Friends, we need
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these chapters because we learn so much about
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the compassion of God. We learn so much about
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the compassion of God for Nineveh and for those
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pagan sailors on the boat. And even for Jonah
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himself, God has so much Patience with Jonah,
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doesn't he? He does. He does. And so today, if
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perhaps you're thinking, well, I did that sin
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again. And I really blew it. And this surely
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has to be the last time. God's done with me.
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He doesn't love me. He doesn't want me. He doesn't
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work through me. Today, know this. God doesn't
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cast off his people. when they sin. God's not
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finished with Jonah, and God's not finished with
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you yet either. And the entirety of scripture
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shows this, right? That God works through messed
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up people to bring glory to himself. Look at
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the lineage of Jesus, right? The lineage of Jesus
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is a who's who of seriously faulty people. Or
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look at Hebrews chapter 11, the hall of faith.
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Or for those of you who have been studying the
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book of Judges, right? God works through those
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judges. God works through David, and his sins
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are very transparent, aren't they? God works
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through Paul, who called himself the chief of
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sinners, and so, yes, God can still work through
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you. He is not done with you. He is not. What
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we know from Scripture, the phrase that's said
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throughout Scripture is that God is merciful
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and gracious, slow to anger and abounding and
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steadfast love. The book of Jonah proves that
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to be true. And so what do we gain by including
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the faults of the prophet, his disobedience,
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his prayerlessness, and his near -death experience?
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We gain everything by that. For we are encouraged
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to know that Jesus loses none of those the Father
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has given to him and that God can do mighty and
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wonderful things through his people. And that's
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what he does. And all of this shows us what God
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was really doing in the book of Jonah. He was
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readying the world for his full display of his
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mercy in Christ. In Christ, the whole world is
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not destroyed due to sin. In Christ, you do not
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perish but have everlasting life. In Christ,
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there is a disaster transfer where the disaster
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that should have fallen upon you and upon me
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instead falls upon Christ as Christ is our substitute
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and our perfect substitute at that. God is at
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work, friends. He is. And as I begin to conclude,
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I want to point out one more thing to you. I
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mentioned the 40, 40 day example. that we see
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throughout scripture. There's another one. You
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remember that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness
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for 40 days, and yet he never sinned. Jesus is
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victorious over sin. He's victorious over the
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grave. And in doing so, he has secured salvation
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for all, for all who trust in him. And so today,
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keep trusting in Jesus. Keep looking to him in
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faith. and repent and walk in new obedience.
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Let's pray.