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Voddie Baucham - God's Mission · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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  Speaker 1: There are always difficulties when we speak with people of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, it is those difficulties that keep many of
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  Speaker 1: us from ever speaking to people of Christ, especially people
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  Speaker 1: whom we know don't know the Lord. We fear rejection,
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  Speaker 1: we don't like confrontation, whatever the case. But there are
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  Speaker 1: some instances that make it even more difficult. One of
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  Speaker 1: the instances that makes it more difficult, we're prepared for,
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  Speaker 1: and that is the instance of the people who don't
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  Speaker 1: realize that they need the gospel. I found that that's
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  Speaker 1: more common around here. People who just assume that they're Christian.
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  Speaker 1: It's amazing. I came from a place where that was
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  Speaker 1: the case, and I thought maybe, maybe, maybe things would
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  Speaker 1: be better here. Because you talk to Americans about the gospel,
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  Speaker 1: about Jesus, about Christianity, and most Americans just sort of
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  Speaker 1: sit there and look at you like, yeah, of course,
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  Speaker 1: of course I'm a Christian. I'm an American. Amen. God,
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  Speaker 1: the Bible, Jesus, America, right? And it's difficult. I thought
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  Speaker 1: it would be less difficult here, but it's not. The
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  Speaker 1: overwhelming majority of Zambians... Yes, of course I'm a Christian.
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  Speaker 1: Why don't you ask me something like that? And it's
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  Speaker 1: difficult to talk to people in that setting when they
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  Speaker 1: believe that they are Christians, wrong though they may be.
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  Speaker 1: But there's another group. There's another group that's difficult to
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  Speaker 1: speak to about the things of God and about redemption.
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  Speaker 1: And that is that group of people that believes that
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  Speaker 1: they have done something or that they are someone who
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  Speaker 1: could never be accepted by God. Those people who believe
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  Speaker 1: that either because of the people group they belong to
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  Speaker 1: or because of the particular sin that they've committed, that
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  Speaker 1: somehow the grace of God, the love of God, just
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  Speaker 1: can't reach that far. And they can sometimes be the
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  Speaker 1: most difficult people To witness to. Those individuals who hear
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  Speaker 1: because often times what will happen is those individuals will
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  Speaker 1: hear the gospel and they may even respond to the
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  Speaker 1: gospel but then shortly thereafter they go right back to
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  Speaker 1: the place where they no longer believe that this can
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  Speaker 1: possibly be true. And they constantly go back and forth
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  Speaker 1: between believing and embracing the grace of God and then
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  Speaker 1: believing and embracing the idea that that grace just can't
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  Speaker 1: reach them. Believe it or not, one of the purposes
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  Speaker 1: of the book of Jonah is to speak not only
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  Speaker 1: to that person, but to those of us who knowingly
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  Speaker 1: or unknowingly help make that person feel that way. The
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  Speaker 1: book of Jonah speaks to that outsider and says that
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  Speaker 1: there is no one beyond God's reach. And the book
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  Speaker 1: of Jonah speaks to us who are insiders and says
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  Speaker 1: there is no one beyond God's reach. This is a
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  Speaker 1: reminder on both sides of the issue. So if you're
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  Speaker 1: here this morning and you believe that somehow because of
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  Speaker 1: who you are or because of what you've done that
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  Speaker 1: the grace of God just can't get there, know that
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  Speaker 1: it can. Amen? And if you're here today and there
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  Speaker 1: are certain individuals that you look down on because of
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  Speaker 1: who they are or because of what they've done, if
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  Speaker 1: you've got a special list of sins and people who
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  Speaker 1: commit sins Those sins on your special list you have
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  Speaker 1: deemed unqualified for salvation. This is for you. This is
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  Speaker 1: for you. This is for me. Amen? This is for
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  Speaker 1: all of us. Because whether we admit it or not,
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  Speaker 1: we all have special lists of sins that bother us
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  Speaker 1: more than others. Or perhaps even special lists of people.
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  Speaker 1: bother us more than others. So, why did Jonah not
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  Speaker 1: want to go to Nineveh? That's a question that we
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  Speaker 1: often don't answer. I mean, we know the story, right?
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  Speaker 1: As we continue our series on One Big Story, we're
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  Speaker 1: looking at these passages of Scripture because they're familiar to us.
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  Speaker 1: And we know the story. The kids were asking me
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  Speaker 1: at home, Daddy, what, what, What are you preaching on
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  Speaker 1: this week? And the minute I said Jonah, everybody, ah, Jonah, yeah. Jonah,
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  Speaker 1: the big fish and swallowing him and taking him. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: it's awesome. Because we know that story. Or at least
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  Speaker 1: we assume we do. But then you ask someone, why
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  Speaker 1: did Jonah not want to go to Nineveh? Well, because... Well,
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  Speaker 1: because Nineveh was a scary place. No, that's not the answer.
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  Speaker 1: If you want to know the answer, go to Jonah
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  Speaker 1: chapter 4. We don't have time to read the entire
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  Speaker 1: book of Jonah, but we'll read chapter 4 because it
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  Speaker 1: is enlightening in this regard. Oftentimes when we tell the
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  Speaker 1: story of Jonah, we end in chapter 3. You ask somebody,
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  Speaker 1: what's the story of Jonah? Jonah. And they'll say, well,
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  Speaker 1: God told Jonah to go to Nineveh. Jonah didn't want
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  Speaker 1: to go to Nineveh, so he got on the ship
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  Speaker 1: going in the other direction. Right? Storm comes. He's thrown overboard,
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  Speaker 1: eaten by a big fish, vomited out on the shores.
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  Speaker 1: He preaches in Nineveh, and Nineveh's saved. That's not the
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  Speaker 1: end of the story. Chapter 4, verse 1. But it
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  Speaker 1: displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed
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  Speaker 1: to the Lord and said, O Lord, is not this
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  Speaker 1: what I said when I was yet in my country?
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  Speaker 1: That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish.
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  Speaker 1: He's answering the question, why did Jonah flee? He's answering it.
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  Speaker 1: For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful,
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  Speaker 1: slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting
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  Speaker 1: from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life
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  Speaker 1: from me, for it is better for me to die
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  Speaker 1: than to live. And the Lord said, Do you do
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  Speaker 1: well to be angry? Jonah, go to Nineveh. No. Why not?
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  Speaker 1: Because you're a merciful God and if I go to Nineveh,
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to preach and you're going to save people.
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  Speaker 1: That's the answer to the question. Jonah didn't want to
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  Speaker 1: go to Nineveh. Because he knew that God would save
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  Speaker 1: them and he didn't want God to save them. Verse 5.
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  Speaker 1: Jonah went out of the city and sat to the
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  Speaker 1: east of the city. and made a booth for himself there.
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  Speaker 1: He sat under it in the shade till he should
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  Speaker 1: see what would become of the city. Now the Lord
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  Speaker 1: God appointed a plant and made it come up over
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  Speaker 1: Jonah that it might be a shade over his head
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  Speaker 1: to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly
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  Speaker 1: glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up
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  Speaker 1: the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the
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  Speaker 1: plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God
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  Speaker 1: appointed a scorching east wind and the sun beat down
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  Speaker 1: on the head of Jonah so that he was faint
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  Speaker 1: and he asked that he might die and said, it
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  Speaker 1: is better for me to die than to live. Sound familiar?
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  Speaker 1: That's what he just said earlier. I'd rather die. But
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  Speaker 1: God said to Jonah, do you do well to be
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  Speaker 1: angry for the plant? And he said, yes, I do
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  Speaker 1: well to be angry enough to die. And the Lord said,
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  Speaker 1: you pity the plant for which you did not labor,
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  Speaker 1: nor did you make it grow, which came into being
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  Speaker 1: in a night and perished in a night. And should
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  Speaker 1: not I pity Nineveh, that great city in which there
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  Speaker 1: are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their
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  Speaker 1: right hand from their left. and also much cattle? And
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  Speaker 1: interestingly enough, that's where the book of Jonah ends. The
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  Speaker 1: question isn't even answered. It's a rhetorical question. We know
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  Speaker 1: the answer to the question. We know the answer is
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  Speaker 1: that Jonah should know better. We know the answer is
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  Speaker 1: if you have pity for the plant that came up.
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  Speaker 1: Certainly you should have pity for a city. Again, 120,000
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  Speaker 1: who are children. Don't know the right hand from the left.
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  Speaker 1: This is a great city. One of the largest cities
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  Speaker 1: of its day. And yet Jonah is displeased. In order
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  Speaker 1: to understand this, we need to know a little bit
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  Speaker 1: about geopolitics in the ancient Near East and a little
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  Speaker 1: bit about Assyria. Let me give you the highlights. Egypt, Assyria,
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  Speaker 1: and Israel were in the middle of a pitched battle
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  Speaker 1: for dominance there in the ancient Near East. And Israel
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  Speaker 1: had more than its share of difficulties with Assyria. The
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  Speaker 1: power of Assyria would wax and wane and the power
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  Speaker 1: of Egypt would wax and wane. The power of Israel
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  Speaker 1: would wax and wane. And there were times of peace
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  Speaker 1: and there were times of war. But everybody knew that
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  Speaker 1: if Assyria had the power, it would dominate the region,
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  Speaker 1: which would include Israel. The northern kingdom stood in great
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  Speaker 1: jeopardy because of Assyria. and in fact would eventually fall
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  Speaker 1: to Assyria. Listen to this. Tiglath-Pileser took Damascus, abolished the monarchy,
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  Speaker 1: and transformed the territory into an Assyrian province. This is
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  Speaker 1: the capital of the northern kingdom. The northern kingdom and
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  Speaker 1: the Transjordan regions of Israel were detached and made into
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  Speaker 1: Assyrian provinces. The upper strata of the populations of these
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  Speaker 1: areas were deported and replaced by immigrants from other parts
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  Speaker 1: of the Assyrian Empire. When Hosea, the last king of Israel,
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  Speaker 1: withheld payment of tribute from Assyria at the insistence of Egypt,
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  Speaker 1: he was imprisoned. Samaria, his capital, was stormed in 722 B.C.
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  Speaker 1: after a three-year siege. and became the seat of government
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  Speaker 1: of the Assyrian province of Samaria. A further deportation took place.
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  Speaker 1: According to Assyrian records, 27,290 people were taken captive, and
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  Speaker 1: foreign settlers were sent to take their place. You see,
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  Speaker 1: Israel is divided into two kingdoms after Solomon. The northern
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  Speaker 1: kingdom had ten tribes, The southern kingdom only two. The
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  Speaker 1: northern kingdom would fall in 722. And those tribes would
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  Speaker 1: basically be lost. How did they fall? They fell to
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  Speaker 1: the Assyrian Empire. It was prophesied beforehand. Jonah knew of
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  Speaker 1: the prophecies. And now God says, go to Nineveh, the
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  Speaker 1: capital of Assyria, and preach to them. That's why Jonah
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  Speaker 1: ran in the other direction. Because he did not want
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  Speaker 1: to see God show mercy. to their adversaries, to their enemies,
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  Speaker 1: that everyone knew would conquer them if they ever had
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  Speaker 1: the opportunity or if they ever got the power again.
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  Speaker 1: And in fact, eventually, that's exactly what happened to the
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  Speaker 1: northern kingdom. It is conquered by Assyria. Now, if we
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  Speaker 1: move ahead to the New Testament, Jesus is speaking to
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  Speaker 1: the Samaritan woman. You're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan woman.
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  Speaker 1: You ask me for a drink? Jews would go around
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  Speaker 1: Samaria so as to not interact with Samarians. They didn't
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  Speaker 1: even want the shadow of a Samaritan to fall upon them. Why?
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  Speaker 1: Why were the Samaritans so hated by the Jews? Because
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  Speaker 1: of this. Because of this. Because of this. Northern kingdom dispossessed,
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  Speaker 1: Assyrians brought into Samaria. And these are the people who
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  Speaker 1: became the Samaritans. So wrap your head around this idea.
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  Speaker 1: That Jonah is being rebellious, absolutely. But his rebellion is
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  Speaker 1: based in his fear and his understanding of what would
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  Speaker 1: eventually come. And it did. And yet he was wrong
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  Speaker 1: to run away. And God was merciful to save. Before
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  Speaker 1: we talk about the significance of all this, let's just
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  Speaker 1: look at the story first. The story of Jonah has
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  Speaker 1: a number of themes. And it's very, it's short and
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  Speaker 1: memorable if you take the time to read it. One
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  Speaker 1: of the themes is arise versus go down. If you
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  Speaker 1: look there in the first part of Jonah, look in
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  Speaker 1: Jonah chapter 1. And we'll read some of this. Jonah
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  Speaker 1: chapter 1. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah,
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  Speaker 1: the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that
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  Speaker 1: great city. And call out against it, for their evil
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  Speaker 1: has come up before me. But Jonah rose, right? Arise.
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  Speaker 1: He rose to flee from Tarshish from the presence of
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  Speaker 1: the Lord. He went down to Joppa. Arise, go to Nineveh. Nope.
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  Speaker 1: He went down to Joppa and found a ship going
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  Speaker 1: to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down
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  Speaker 1: into it to go with them to Tarshish. away from
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  Speaker 1: the presence of the Lord. Arise versus go down. And
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  Speaker 1: not only here, chapter 1, verse 6, when the storm comes,
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  Speaker 1: they say, arise, call out to your God. Perhaps the
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  Speaker 1: God will give a thought to us that we may
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  Speaker 1: not perish. Not only did he go down to Joppa,
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  Speaker 1: not only did he go down into the boat, but
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  Speaker 1: when he was in the boat, he went down to
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  Speaker 1: the lower part of the boat. And then when he's
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  Speaker 1: down in the lower part of the boat, he lays
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  Speaker 1: down to go to sleep, which is why they have
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  Speaker 1: to call him to arise when the storm comes. Not
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  Speaker 1: only does he go down into the boat, but he
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  Speaker 1: also goes down into the water. And after he goes
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  Speaker 1: down into the boat and then down into the water,
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  Speaker 1: he goes down into a fish. Amen? Literally. Chapter 2,
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  Speaker 1: verses 5 and 6. The waters closed in over me
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  Speaker 1: to take my life. The deep surrounded me. Weeds were
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  Speaker 1: wrapped about my head. At the roots of the mountains.
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  Speaker 1: I went down to the land whose bars closed upon
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  Speaker 1: me forever. Yet you brought up my life from the pit.
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  Speaker 1: Many commentators argue that actually Jonah didn't just go down
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  Speaker 1: to Joppa so that he could go down to Tarshish
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  Speaker 1: and then get down into a ship. and go down
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  Speaker 1: to the bottom of the ship to lay down in
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  Speaker 1: the ship, and then be thrown overboard to go down
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  Speaker 1: into the water, and then eventually go down into a fish,
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  Speaker 1: according to this passage, more than likely, he went down
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  Speaker 1: to death. There's two possibilities. Possibility number one, miraculously, God
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  Speaker 1: preserved Jonah in the belly of a fish for three days.
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  Speaker 1: Possibility number two, Miraculously, the fish swallowed Jonah. He died.
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  Speaker 1: And then three days later, God brought him back to life.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, if we go over to the New Testament,
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  Speaker 1: Matthew chapter 12, verses 39 to 41. This is one
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  Speaker 1: of those unique stories in the Old Testament that's familiar,
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  Speaker 1: part of the one big story, but it's also repeated
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  Speaker 1: for us. or referred to directly for us in the
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  Speaker 1: New Testament. Matthew chapter 12 verses 39 to 41 we'll
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  Speaker 1: refer to this again but we'll read it now this
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  Speaker 1: is Jesus speaking he answered them an evil and adulterous
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  Speaker 1: generation seeks for a sign But no sign will be
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  Speaker 1: given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
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  Speaker 1: For just as Jonah was three days and three nights
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  Speaker 1: in the belly of the great fish, so will the
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  Speaker 1: Son of Man be three days and three nights in
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  Speaker 1: the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will
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  Speaker 1: rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it.
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  Speaker 1: For they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold,
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  Speaker 1: something greater than Jonah is here. Jesus says, the only
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  Speaker 1: sign that you will be given is the sign of Jonah.
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  Speaker 1: For three days, Jonah was in the belly of the fish.
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  Speaker 1: For three days, I'll be in the belly of the earth.
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  Speaker 1: But for those three days, Jesus was dead. And then
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  Speaker 1: he was brought back to life. It is quite feasible
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  Speaker 1: that for those three days, Jonah was dead. And then
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  Speaker 1: he was brought back to life. So that the sign
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  Speaker 1: of Jonah that's being referred to here is Christ being
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  Speaker 1: brought back from the dead. More about that later. Besides
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  Speaker 1: this idea of arise and go down, there's also the
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  Speaker 1: idea of greatness in the story. Nineveh is referred to
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  Speaker 1: in the first chapter as that great city. Then there
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  Speaker 1: was a great wind and then a great tempest. Then
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  Speaker 1: there was exceeding or great fear. There was a great
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  Speaker 1: fish and then another reference to the great city. Then
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  Speaker 1: there's the shade that brings exceeding joy. The disappearance of
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  Speaker 1: the shade brings exceeding or great anguish. And finally, the
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  Speaker 1: last great is a reference to the great city of
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  Speaker 1: Nineveh again. There's another theme in the story of Jonah.
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  Speaker 1: It is the theme of God's sovereignty and his providence.
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  Speaker 1: And this is important for us. The Lord called Jonah
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  Speaker 1: to go. Jonah didn't go. The Lord hurled a great
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  Speaker 1: wind on the sea. The Lord brought a great tempest.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord appointed a great fish. The Lord spoke to
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  Speaker 1: the fish and told the fish exactly where to vomit
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  Speaker 1: Jonah up on the shore. The Lord saved Nineveh. Chapter 3,
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  Speaker 1: verse 10. When God saw what they did, how they
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  Speaker 1: turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster
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  Speaker 1: that he had said he would do to them. And
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  Speaker 1: he did not do it. Chapter 4, verse 6. The
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  Speaker 1: Lord appointed the plant. Chapter 4, verse 7. The Lord
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  Speaker 1: appointed the worm. Chapter 4, verse 8. The Lord appointed Nineveh.
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  Speaker 1: the scorching east wind. Again and again and again, a
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  Speaker 1: reference to the sovereignty of God. Everything that happens in
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  Speaker 1: the book of Jonah happens because God appointed it. God
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  Speaker 1: is not passive in the book of Jonah. God is
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  Speaker 1: not passive in the mission of salvation. So if that's
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  Speaker 1: the background that we're looking at, what is the significance
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  Speaker 1: of this according to the one big story? Let me
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  Speaker 1: give you a couple of things here. Number one, the
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  Speaker 1: book of Jonah reminds us that God's plan is greater
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  Speaker 1: than just Israel. God's plan was greater than just Israel.
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  Speaker 1: We've already alluded to the fact that even in the
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  Speaker 1: Abrahamic covenant, in Genesis chapter 12, God makes it clear
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  Speaker 1: that through you, all the nations of the earth will
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  Speaker 1: be blessed and God's plan from the beginning was never
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  Speaker 1: to just save Israel. God's plan from the beginning was
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  Speaker 1: to save a people from every tribe and kindred and
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  Speaker 1: tongue and nation for his own glory. This reminds us,
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  Speaker 1: remember both sides of that equation? There are some who
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  Speaker 1: believe that because we are outsiders and don't belong to
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  Speaker 1: the right group, That God's mercy cannot reach us. If
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  Speaker 1: you were in Nineveh, you would have been wrong. And
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  Speaker 1: you're here today. And if that's what you believe, you're
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  Speaker 1: just as wrong. There are others of us who are
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  Speaker 1: on the other side of the equation. And we say
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  Speaker 1: we are insiders. And there are other people who are outsiders.
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  Speaker 1: God can save us. But he can't save them. Why?
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  Speaker 1: Because you've done something that is so wicked that God
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  Speaker 1: can't save you. Or you're part of a group of
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  Speaker 1: people that are so wicked that God can't save you.
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  Speaker 1: But how does the book of Jonah start? Go back
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  Speaker 1: again to Jonah chapter 1. Because here's the myth that
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  Speaker 1: we hold on to. The myth that we hold on
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  Speaker 1: to is that God extends salvation to those who somehow
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  Speaker 1: prove worthy of his salvation. God extends salvation to those
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  Speaker 1: who do the right thing or don't do the wrong thing.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: God extends salvation to those who are part of the
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: right group and not part of the wrong group. Chapter
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: 1 and verse 2. Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city,
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: and call out against it. for their evil has come
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: up before me. What? Notice what he didn't say. Jonah,
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: go to Nineveh because there's repentance there. Jonah, go to
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: Nineveh because they're doing better now. Jonah, go to Nineveh
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: because I see a glimmer of hope there. Go to
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: Nineveh because they want somebody to, no, go to Nineveh.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: Their evil is great. Their wickedness has come up before me.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: In other words, they have distinguished themselves in wickedness. What
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: a thing to be distinguished for. Amen? Can you imagine
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: how wicked you'd have to be For God to say
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: to one of his prophets, hey, you need to go
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: to this place because their wickedness has come to my attention.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: All the wickedness in the world and God says the
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: wickedness of Assyria has come to my attention. So go there.
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: So you who believe that whatever it is that you
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: have done is so exceedingly wicked that God's mercy cannot
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: reach you, you You are wrong. You are wrong. You
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: are wrong. There is no sin so great that the
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: blood of Jesus cannot cover it. Amen? You are wrong.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: You are wrong. Ah, yeah, but Pastor, you don't know
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: what I've done. I don't have to know what you've done.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: All I have to know is the blood of Jesus
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: is greater. Yeah, yeah, Pastor, but I, uh-uh, stop. Don't
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: even finish your statement because whatever is about to come
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: out of your mouth, the blood of Jesus is greater.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: It's greater. It's greater. It's greater. Grace. Grace. God's grace.
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: Grace that can pardon and cleanse within. Grace. Grace. God's grace.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: Grace that is greater than all my sin. And all
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: of it. And all of it. Do you believe that today? Okay.
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: Do you believe that God's grace is greater than all
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: your sin? Do you believe that today? Or are you
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: sitting there wallowing in self-pity, believing that Jesus died on
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: the cross, ascended to the right hand of the Father,
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: having said, Tetelestai, it is finished, paid in full. And
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: then out of all the people in the history of
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: the world, you were able to do something to make
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: the Son of God say, ah, didn't quite cover that.
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: Is that what you really believe? The blood of Jesus
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: is greater. It is greater. It is greater. Ah, but
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: you don't know. I used to be. this. I used
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: to be that. I made a profession of faith and
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: now I've fallen into sin. I did this. I did that.
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: Whatever it is, the blood of Jesus is greater. By far.
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: By far. By far. And your problem is twofold. Number one,
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: you think too much of your sin. And number two,
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: you think too little of Christ. It is not just
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: that someone died for sin. It is that Christ died
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: for sin. The just for the unjust in order that
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: he might bring us to God. It is that Christ,
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: the spotless, sinless Lamb of God, died for sin. It
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: is that Christ, the second person of the Trinity, died
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: for sin. It is that God, wrapped in flesh, laid
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: down and died for sin. God! God Himself! The blood
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: that He shed, the life that He lived, The death
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: that he died was greater by far than anything you
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: have ever done. By far. And for those of you
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: who are Christians, is there someone out there to whom
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: you are not willing to say that? Is there some
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: sin that someone committed about which you are not willing
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: to say that? Is there someone who sinned against you?
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: Someone who hurt you? Someone who harmed you? And you're
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: not willing to say, ah, the blood of Jesus can
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: cover that. Is there? Is there someone in your own
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: life that you are not willing to forgive for what
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: they have done to you? Because essentially what you're saying
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: to them is this, God may be willing to forgive
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: you and the blood of Jesus Christ may satisfy the
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: wrath of God, but I require more. God can forgive
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: you for what you did to me. Because the death
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: of Christ, the blood of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: was enough. It was enough for the God of the universe.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: But my justice is higher than the justice of the
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: God of the universe. My wrath is greater than the
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: wrath of the God of the universe. And the price
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: that I require is higher. So the blood of Jesus
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: is not enough for me to forgive you for what
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: you did to me. God help you. If that's what
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: you're saying. And if you're unwilling to forgive another, that's
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: exactly what you're saying. The book of Jonah begs to differ.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: There is no one beyond his reach. There is no
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: one beyond saving. No one. nor do future actions invalidate this.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: So later on when Hezekiah is dealing with them in
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: the south, this doesn't invalidate what God did. Ah, God,
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: you were wrong. You were wrong to save those people
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: because a generation later, look what happens. God is never
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: wrong to do anything. If you can't say amen, you
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: ought to say ouch. God is never wrong to do anything.
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: Whatever God does is right. Amen? Whatever God does is right. Ah, God,
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: you're wrong. You were wrong to go and save the
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: Assyrian capital. Because look at what Assyria did later. God
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: knew that. God knew that. And he wasn't wrong. He
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: wasn't wrong. Because here's a newsflash. God saved you. And
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: not everything you've done since your salvation has been a
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: shining example of goodness and righteousness. Amen, somebody. Huh? God
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: was not wrong. Secondly, Christ is greater than Jonah. Christ
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: is greater than Jonah. Let's look at that text again
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: in Matthew. Chapter 12, verse 39 to 41. But he
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: answered them, an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign,
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: but no sign will be given to it except the
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: sign of the prophet Jonah. But by the way, we
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: have to pause here We have to pause here. Because
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: somebody needs this this morning. The book of Jonah ends badly.
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: Can we agree? It ends badly for Jonah. Here is
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: Jonah in chapter 1. Jonah, go to Nineveh. He rebels
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: against God and runs in the other direction. God brings
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: a storm. He doesn't repent. When the storm comes, Jonah
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: doesn't fall on his face and say, Lord, I'm sorry.
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: I'll go the other. No, he says, throw me into
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: the sea. Perhaps even dies in the belly of a whale.
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: Vomited up on the shore. And he goes and preaches.
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: And all we know of his message is that he
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: went 40 days and you're done. And there was no mercy.
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: There was no plea. There was no, he didn't want
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: to be there. 40 days, God's going to wipe you out.
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: 40 days, God's going to judge you. That's it. He
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: just went to and fro in the city and he preached.
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: They repented in sackcloth and ashes. He goes up on
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: a hill so he can watch the city. He sits
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: there and he says, God, I want to die. I
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: want to die. I want to die. I'd rather be dead.
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: Now God has just magnified his mercy and his grace
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: and Jonah at the sight of it says kill me.
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: The book of Jonah doesn't end well for Jonah. Amen?
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: And for most of us Here's the way we would
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: assume that God would treat us. If you and I
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: are Jonah and our book ends this badly, you would
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: think that if our name was ever mentioned again, it
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: would only be to condemn us. Amen? Jesus mentions Jonah
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: without one hint of condemnation. Hear me. you who have
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: fallen and failed. Hear me, you who've had to repent.
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: Hear me, you who've experienced disgrace. Hear me, you whose
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: life perhaps has been a massive disappointment even after your conversion.
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: Hear me, hear me. There is now no condemnation. for
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: those who are in Christ. God is gracious. God is merciful.
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: For just as Jonah was three days and three nights
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: in the belly of the great fish, so will the
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: Son of Man be three days and three nights in
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it,
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold,
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: something greater than Jonah is here. How is Christ greater
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: than Jonah? Well, let's get the obvious out of the way.
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: Jonah was a mere man. Jesus is the second person
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: of the Trinity. Amen? But how else was Christ greater
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: than Jonah? God says to Jonah, leave Israel and go
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: to Nineveh. And Jonah is not willing to do it.
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: The father says to the son, leave heaven alone. And
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: go to earth. And the son. Gladly accepted. Amen. Jonah
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: was a sinner. Saved by God's grace. Who was unwilling
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: to extend. That same grace. To other sinners. Who were
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: no worse than he. Jesus is the spotless. Sinless. Lamb
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: of God. Perfect. Perfect. without sin, and he laid down
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: his life and died for those who were unworthy. Jonah
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: spent three days in the belly of the whale and
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: for all intents and purposes was dead. I believe he
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: literally died in the belly of that fish. And Jonah
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: was brought back to life, but guess what? Jonah's dead now. Amen?
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: Jonah's dead now. He had to die again. Thanks for that.
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: Jesus rose from the grave never to taste death again. Amen?
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: Jonah preached to a people who would never see the
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: fullness of God's redeeming grace in the person of Jesus Christ.
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: Jesus preached redemption, and he is the fullness of God's
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: redeeming grace. Jonah preached a message, and he saw one
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: city and one great nation come to repentance. Christ laid
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: down his life and redeemed for the Father a people
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: from every tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation. Jonah preached and
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: saw glorious fruit and immediately thereafter fell into depression and sin.
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: Jesus preached. Jesus preached. and received for it the cross.
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: And yet he ascended to the right hand of God.
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: Jonah preached, and he went and sat down to watch
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: in anger and anguish what was happening to those who
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: had repented. Jesus came, preached redemption to us, ascended to
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: the right hand of the Father so that he could
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: forever make intercession for us. We could go on. Jesus
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: is greater than Jonah. And yet Jonah teaches us something
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: about this one big story. Jonah teaches us that God's
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: mission reaches beyond just Israel. That God's mission reaches beyond
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: the worst of sinners. Jesus teaches us that, but he
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: also teaches us why. The reason that Nineveh could be
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: forgiven was because the blood of Christ was sufficient. The
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: reason that you and I can be forgiven is because
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: the blood of Christ is sufficient. The reason that the
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: message could reach beyond Israel to their neighbor Assyria is
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: because the blood of Christ is sufficient. And the reason
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: that this message can now reach to the uttermost ends
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: of the earth is because the blood of Christ is sufficient.
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: And the reason that you and I are still here
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: is because our work is not yet done. And Christ
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: does not yet have the fullness of the reward for
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: which he died. But he will. He will. Because God
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: does not leave salvation to chance. He didn't leave it
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: to chance in Nineveh. He appointed a man. That man rebelled.
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: Not enough to change God's plan. The man ran away
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: into a ship. He appointed a wind. He appointed a storm.
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: He appointed the waves. He appointed a fish. Because that
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: wasn't enough. And eventually that man that he appointed to preach,
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: after three days and three nights in the belly of
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: a fish, got up and did exactly what God appointed
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: him to do. Nineveh repented because God appointed it to happen.
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: Because God does not leave salvation to chance. Amen? If
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: you have trusted in Christ, it is because God appointed
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: you to do so. And as we go out and
• 45:29
  Speaker 1: preach the gospel, people respond in faith because God has
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: appointed the gospel to do that work and he has
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: appointed them to come. So we end where we began.
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: If you are here and you find yourself on the
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: side of the equation that says because of who I
• 45:52
  Speaker 1: am or because of what I've done, certainly I am
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: beyond God's reach. You are wrong. And if you find
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: yourself on the other side of the equation, not willing
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: or wanting for certain people to hear and respond to
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: the gospel, may you find yourself rebuked today. Amen. Amen.
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: The love of God is greater far. Let's pray. God,
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: we thank you for this reminder in Jonah. Lord, we
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: even rejoice in the way that you've taken us from Daniel,
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: a man about whom no sin is recorded, And encouraged
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: us through his life. To now Jonah. A man whose sin.
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: Screams from every chapter of his book. And yet you
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: encourage us there as well. Father we rejoice in your redemption.
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: We rejoice in your grace. We rejoice in your mercy.
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: And we rejoice in your mission. that is greater far
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: than anything we can imagine. We rejoice in the fact
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: that you saved us in spite of, not because of
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: who we are and what we've done. And we rejoice
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: in the fact that you have called us to be
• 47:47
  Speaker 1: a part of your mission, to take your gospel to
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: every creature, Grant by your grace that we might do
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: so faithfully, willingly, and passionately. And that we might do
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: so because it is our desire that Christ might indeed
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: have the fullness of the reward for which he died.
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: This we pray in his name. Amen. I would walk 1,000
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: miles 1,000 miles, it's true I would walk