Salvation is of the Lord and for everyone.

Sermon Transcript

There is an old naval legend about two ships at sea on a collision course with one another in the dead of night. The captain of the first ship radios to the second demanding that the second ship change course to avoid collision. The first ship receives a simple message in return: “no, you change course.” This goes back and forth multiple times until the captain of the first ship finally yells in exasperation, “I am the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise, one of the largest naval warships in existence. Change course now.” To his shock, the voice radios back, “I am a lighthouse. Your call.” This was a battle of wills in which one party was definitely going to win and one party was definitely going to lose. That’s kind of like what we have in the book of Jonah, where the will of a reluctant and self-righteous prophet came up against the will of a merciful and saving God. You can probably guess whose will won in the end.

While the book of Jonah is best known for featuring a running prophet, a huge fish, and a great city, the star of the narrative is the Lord himself. It’s the Lord who calls Jonah to preach His warning to Nineveh, the great city. It’s the Lord who chases down Jonah when he flees and it’s the Lord’s steadfast love that drives the entire narrative. In fact, the primary message of the book is captured by Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the fish when he says, “Salvation belongs to the Lord” (Jonah 2:9d). But Jonah is also about who God’s salvation is for: Nineveh. It’s even for the worst of people who repent of their sins. That brings us to the big idea of Jonah: Salvation is of the Lord and for everyone. Salvation is of the Lord and for everyone. What was Jonah to do in light of this truth? What should we do? Everyone who receives the message of salvation is a messenger of salvation. Everyone who receives the gospel message is a gospel-messenger. How do we live as messengers of the message? Four ways: 1. Go where the Lord sends 2. Rejoice that the Lord saves. 3. Speak what the Lord says 4. Have what the Lord has.

GO WHERE THE LORD SENDS

Let’s pick things up with the beginning of Jonah. Jonah 1:1-2 – Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” Nineveh was the capital city of Israel’s cruelest enemy nation: The Assyrians. And that’s exactly where the Lord sent Jonah. He sent Jonah to call out a warning against Nineveh’s evil. Why would the Lord send Jonah to Nineveh? Simply, grace! As we’ll see throughout Jonah, the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. In his grace, the Lord sends Jonah to warn Nineveh about their evil so that Nineveh can repent, turn to the Lord, and the Lord will relent from judgment. There is just one problem. Jonah hates the Ninevites for the violent oppression they exacted against Jonah’s people and nation. So, Jonah runs from the Lord and in the opposite direction of Nineveh. Jonah 1:3 – But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. Jonah refused to go where the Lord sent Him. But when we run from the Lord, He runs after us. And like the ship with the lighthouse, our rebellion is no match for the Lord’s grace. If we run, he’ll come after us. So, the Lord hurled a massive storm on the sea that was so deadly that even the experienced mariners were freaking out and calling out to their pagan gods to save them. The captain wakes Jonah up, tells him to cry out to his God, and through a series of events, Jonah admits that he’s the reason for the storm. Finally, when it’s clear that the Lord will not stop chasing Jonah, Jonah commands the mariners to throw him into the sea. When Jonah hits the water, the storm stops. Just like when Jesus went into the grave to stop the storm of God’s judgment from falling on us, Jonah went into the water and the storm that threatened the pagan mariners stopped. In response, the pagan mariners fear and worship the one true God. Ironically, God’s saving purpose prevails even when Jonah is running. The message is clear: Go where the Lord sends you because it’s the Lord who sends, he will chase you if you run from him, and his saving purpose will prevail.

It’s not difficult to begin taking Jonah’s experience personally. After all, if you have believed the gospel of Jesus Christ – the message that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, died and rose for the forgiveness of sins – then, like Jonah, Jesus has sent you to be a messenger of the message. In Matthew 28:18-20 we read – And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Like Jonah, every follower of Jesus is sent to be a messenger of the gospel message. To go where God sends you, consider three things. First, consider yourself sent wherever you are. Wherever you live, wherever you work, wherever you go to school, wherever you exercise, wherever you have a hobby, wherever you have relationships, consider yourself sent there to be a messenger of the gospel message. That’s not the only reason you have a job, but it’s certainly a primary one. Step into every place the Lord places you as sent to be a messenger of the gospel message. Who are your three? Second, consider that the Lord may be sending you somewhere else. Prayerfully consider that the Lord may be sending you to a place here locally that isn’t natural to or logical for you so that you can be a messenger of the gospel message. Prayerfully consider that the Lord may be sending you to a nation or people-group where there is far less access to the message than here in America. Over three billion people in this world are considered unreached with the message of the gospel and the majority of them live in what is called the 10/40 window. Prayerfully consider and talk to a pastor about if the Lord may be sending you to take the message there. Finally, consider the storm. Does it feel like the Lord is hurling a storm on your life right now? Consider the storm. The storm may be because you’re running from the Lord in your life in general or running from being a messenger of the message. There are many reasons for storms, but that can be one of them. It’s worth considering with a trusted Christian. Since salvation is of the Lord and for everyone, first, go where the Lord sends. Second…

REJOICE THAT THE LORD SAVES

We left off with Jonah in the water and the pagans praising the one true God. Let’s get back to Jonah. Jonah 1:17 – And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Like the storm, the fish was God’s grace to Jonah. The fish saved Jonah from drowning to death and it was from the belly of the fish that Jonah repented for running. What happened in the belly of the fish? First of all, Jonah realized that he really needed to be saved, and from more than just drowning. Jonah 2:5-6 – The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. Jonah discovered that he really needed to be saved and that the Lord really did save him. Jonah 2:7-9 – When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. [8] Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. [9] But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!” In the belly of the fish Jonah discovered that he really needed to be saved, that the Lord really had saved him, and it restored his joy in the Lord’s salvation. Now Jonah is ready to be a messenger of the message. Jonah 2:10 – And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

To be messengers of the message, the one thing that we need above all, the one thing we see that Jonah received in the belly of the fish, is the joy of being saved. To be a messenger of the message, more than we need training and techniques, more than we need courage and creativity (as critical as those things are!), we need joy; rejoice that the Lord saves. Why? Because we share what delights us. This time of year many people delight in the Philadelphia Eagles and their fantasy football league. Heartbreak hasn’t come yet. One of the reasons why it’s so natural to talk about the Eagles or fantasy football is that they bring us joy. We share what delights us. To be a messenger of the message, rejoice that the Lord saves. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we have received an even greater salvation than Jonah. Jonah 1:17 says Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. In Matthew 12:40, Jesus says, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Friends, Jonah went into the fish and was saved from death, but Jesus went into the grave and died to save us from eternal punishment by grace through faith. If you’ve received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you haven’t merely been improved, you haven’t merely gotten serious about your faith, and you haven’t merely been fulfilled & healed. You’ve been saved from God’s wrath for eternal life by the true and greater Jonah, God’s Son. That’s worth rejoicing in. Perhaps your next step in being and growing as a messenger of the gospel message is to begin praying Psalm 51:12 for yourself – Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. That’s a prayer the Lord loves to answer. Since salvation is of the Lord and for everyone, go where the Lord sends, rejoice that the Lord saves, and third…

SPEAK WHAT THE LORD SAYS

When we left off, Jonah was lying on the beach, freshly spat out of the great fish’s mouth. Let’s pick things up in Jonah 3:1-2 – Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” The Lord sends Jonah again because the Lord still saves, because the Lord is still intent to save through Jonah’s speaking, and because the Lord is the God of second chances. So, what did the Lord give Jonah to say? Jonah 3:4 – Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” In short, Jonah’s message was one of repentance. God is holy. The Ninevites have sinned against him. God’s just judgment is coming, but if they repent of their sin and turn to God, he will relent from judgment because of his steadfast love. The Ninevites’ response to the message of repentance is remarkable. Jonah 3:5-8 – And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. [6] The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. [7] And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, [8] but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. That’s real repentance: a change of heart, a hatred of sin, and a turn to the true God that leads to a change in life. The repentance was personal and it was national. Revival hit Nineveh and it changed everything even down to the laws that the repentant King decreed. God relented. Jonah 3:10 – When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. That’s remarkable and it was all the result of Jonah speaking what the Lord said: a message of repentance.

Friends, the message of repentance is the same message the Father gave to his Son, Jesus Christ to preach. Mark 1:15 Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” That message of repentance is the same one the earliest church leaders preached. Acts 2:37-38 – Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” [38] And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jonah’s message, Jesus’ message, and the Apostles message is our message. We don’t adjust it, we speak it with the aim to persuade people to embrace it. Our message is the message of repentance. Our message is that God is holy, all people are sinful and deserving of his judgment, but God sent His long-promised Son to die for our sins, so that when we repent and believe in Christ as Lord we are forgiven and God will relent from eternal judgment. To be a messenger of the gospel message of repentance, don’t adjust it, speak it. You’re not the chef, you’re the waiter. Your job is to deliver. But Citylight – don’t just speak what God says, speak it with Christian optimism because if Nineveh may repent, then, by God’s grace, anyone can repent, and when they do God will surely relent. Salvation is of the Lord and for everyone, so go where God sends, rejoice that God saves, speak what God says, and finally…

HAVE WHAT THE LORD HAS

Contrary to popular belief, the book of Jonah isn’t over yet. The end of Jonah reveals what the Lord has, but Jonah doesn’t: mercy. To be messengers of the gospel message, despite all fears and obstacles, we have to have what the Lord has: mercy toward sinners who repent of their sins. Jonah doesn’t have that. Rather than rejoicing that Nineveh repented and the Lord relented, Jonah is furious with the Lord for being gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from judging Nineveh. He wanted Nineveh to burn for all the wickedness they’d done to him, not repent, and he shook his fist at God for saving the wrong kind of repentant sinners. So, Jonah went outside the city, sat in a little shelter he made to protect himself from the sun, and waited in hopes that the Lord would come to his senses and crush Nineveh. While Jonah waited, the Lord appointed a plant to grow up and shade Jonah, but then the Lord appointed a worm to eat the plant and Jonah was stuck in the baking Middle Eastern sun. Jonah is furious. The book of Jonah ends with the following dialogue between Jonah and the Lord. Jonah 4:9-11 – But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” [10] And the LORD said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. [11] And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” Years ago, Andrea and I rented a room in our home to a young woman. One day she read the Book of Jonah in one sitting. When she finished she sent Andrea and me a text that read, in all caps, “MY BIBLE MUST NOT HAVE THE END OF JONAH!” We never hear Jonah’s response. Commenting on the end of Jonah, Pastor Tim Keller wrote in his book The Prodigal Prophet, “It is as if God shoots this arrow of a question at Jonah, but Jonah disappears, and we realize that the arrow is aimed at us. How will you answer?” God should have mercy. God does have mercy. Romans 5:8 says that God shows his love and mercy in this most ultimate way: when we were yet sinners Christ died for us. God has mercy. To be a messenger of the message, have what the Lord has: mercy.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, how should we respond to the Book of Jonah? Well, that depends. Have you received the message of repentance? Have you received and are you resting in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins? Have you turned from running away from God and received his mercy that comes only through faith in Jesus Christ? If yes, then you’re a messenger of the gospel message. That’s who you are! So, go where God sends, rejoice that God saves, speak what God says, and have what God has. If not, then you’re still in the position of Nineveh. Jonah 1:1 says that Nineveh’s evil went up before God. By disobeying and ignoring God in the world he created, your evil has gone up before God too. God’s judgment is coming. But if you repent, then God will relent. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to live, die, and rise in your place to take the judgment that your sin deserves so that if you’ll repent, then God will relent. Like Nineveh, turn from your sins, embrace Jesus Christ by faith, trust Him as your only hope in life and in death, and rejoice because God will relent.