The Plowman

 

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An exposition of Jonah 4:1-11. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, April 11, 2010.

Introduction
It is just so “out of place.”  It makes no sense.  It should have been a time of great rejoicing.  It should have been a time for declaring the goodness and the grace of God.  Instead, God’s prophet was angry.  More disturbing was why he was angry.  He was angry because God was acting like God and that’s not what the preacher wanted.  He was called from Galilee to preach God’s message but he was unhappy with the assignment.  So, he ran away.  But you can’t run from God so he didn’t get very far.  God’s severe mercy brought the wayward prophet to repentance.  In kindness and grace God commissioned him again.  He gave his rebellious prophet a second chance.  Jonah went and preached God’s message.  A great revival broke out.  It touched everyone from the stable to the palace.  From the least to the greatest.  That’s were we pick up the story in Jonah chapter 4.

Text: Jonah 4:1-11
I want to give Jonah the benefit of the doubt.
Three days and nights in the belly of a fish is bound to warp you a bit.
But this is incredible.
I’ve said the book is in 4 parts.
Rebellion - 1
Repentance - 2
Revival - 3
Regret - 4

The whole story of Jonah is the story of God’s mercy.
First God’s mercy on Jonah in calling him in the first place.
In love and kindness God called Jonah, equipped Jonah, revealed himself to Jonah and then commissioned him to go to Nineveh.

Jonah rebelled - went to Joppa, paid the fare and boarded a ship bound for Tarshish.
In mercy God brought a great storm on the sea.
In mercy God revealed to all aboard that Jonah was the problem.
But rather than repent Jonah wanted to die - “Throw me overboard.”
In mercy God appointed a fish.
In the belly of the fish - Jonah “came to himself” and found God as Savior.
God’s mercy was demonstrated again when He called Jonah a second time.
Giving him the same commission.
And again when he used Jonah to bring a great revival.

God’s mercy was shown to the sailors who first called out “to their gods.”
But later, following God’s revelation worshiped the true God.

God’s mercy was shown to Nineveh in His relenting of the disaster He promised and granting them revival.

Certainly all of this is cause for much rejoicing but Jonah is mad.  He is angry with God.  Let’s explore this chapter.

1. A Shocking Revelation - 4:1-3
2. Some Familiar and Uncomfortable Reasons - 4:1-3
3. Three Probing and Disturbing Questions - 4:4-11

The book ends with a question.
There is no answer - why?
Because we all must answer it for ourselves.

The book of Jonah is about mercy.
If we have tasted of that mercy are we not obligated to take that message to our world?
If we have the mind and heart of God are we not to be merciful?

 

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An exposition of Jonah 3:1-10. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, March 21, 2010.

Introduction
It is possible to be too familiar with truth, after all familiarity does breed contempt.  Because of our continuous emphasis on grace we can fall into the trap of thinking of grace as “commonplace.”  As something ordinary or pedestrian.  When the truth is grace is anything but common.  It is a most uncommon thing.  Grace is God’s favor.  It is unearned and undeserved.  It must never be taken for granted and must not be thought of as anything other than extraordinary.  But we speak of salvation by grace as though it is expected, worse, as if it is owed.  When the truth is grace is alway surprising.  One great example of God’s surprising grace is found in the Old Testament book of Jonah.

Jonah, a prophet from Galilee, was called to take God’s message to the capital city of the Assyrian empire.  He didn’t want to do that.  Not because they were a wicked and cruel people, though they were.  Not because he feared for his life, though he had every reason to fear.  But because he was afraid that God would be gracious with the Ninevites and forgive them!

So he tried to run away. He booked passage on a ship heading for Tarshish off the northern coast of Spain. He was determined to go as far away from his assignment as possible. But he couldn’t run away from God.
God hurled a great storm on the sea and threatened the ship and all those aboard. Eventually Jonah’s secret is discovered. And rather than go and do what God called him to do - he asked to be thrown overboard! He’d rather die than do the will of God. But God is gracious and spared Jonah. God graciously brought Jonah to repentance. Of course you remember how He did that - a great fish, 3 days and nights.

I guess 3 days and nights in a fish’s belly is a time for some serious reflection! Not much else to do than contemplate your life choices and consider the future. After Jonah repented and found salvation in the Lord - God gave the order and Jonah was delivered to dry land.  That’s were we pick up the story.

Text: Jonah 3:1-10
As we work our way through the third chapter we’ll note a surprising revelation, a definite reversal and an amazing revival.

1. A Surprising Revelation - 3:1-2
2. A Definite Reversal - 3:3-4
3. An Amazing Revival - 3:5-10

This chapter is the great miracle chapter of Jonah not chapter 2!  Because it is here we see the miracle working power of God’s grace.  And we behold the wonder of His grace in His changing the heart of His wayward prophet and transforming a wicked city.

 

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Jonah #2 - An exposition of Jonah 1:17-2:10. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, March 14, 2010.

Introduction
It was the defining characteristic of the preaching on John the Baptist and it was the hallmark of the preaching of our Lord - “Repentance.”  Unfortunately repentance has fallen out of favor.  One might even get the impression it is on the “do not use” list.  Calls for repentance have come to be associated with more primitive times.  It congers up images of red-faced evangelists and protracted meetings.  We don’t have time for such nonsense anymore.  We’re busy people.  Places to go, people to see and that whole repentance thing is offensive.  We’re struggling to pay the bills and keep the doors open we can’t afford to run folks off.  The problem is without the message of repentance we have no Gospel.  Without repentance there is no salvation.  With no Gospel and no salvation we might as well close up shop because we have nothing to offer.  Jonah was called to take God’s message to Nineveh the capital city of the Assyrian Empire.  But Jonah didn’t want to go.  He didn’t want to preach to them because he knew if he came preaching God’s judgment they might repent and if they repented - God would forgive them and Jonah just couldn’t live with that.  So Jonah set his sights in the opposite direction.  He was determined to go as far away from God’s call as humanly possible.  He went down to Joppa, payed the fare and got in a boat heading for Tarshish.  But God’s severe grace hunted him down.  God hurled a great wind onto the sea and threatened to break up the ship.  After an intense struggle it was finally discovered that Jonah was the problem.  After some debate the sailors reluctantly tossed Jonah overboard.  That’s where we pick up the story and it is at this point Jonah learns about repentance.  Our text this evening is found in Jonah chapter 2.

Text: Jonah 1:17-2:10
Remember I said last week we can divide this book into 4 sections.

• Chapter 1 - Rebellion
• Chapter 2 - Repentance
• Chapter 3 - Revival
• Chapter 4 - Regret

This evening we deal with repentance.

Before we get into that though let’s deal with the controversy of this chapter and the book of Jonah.  There are those who believe this story is, at best, an allegory or a parable.  The problem is that it doesn’t read like that at all.  There is nothing in the text to indicate we should read it or understand it in anyway other than literal.  Others say it is purely myth.  Come on, a fish swallowing a man, the man lives for 3 days and nights in the belly of the fish and then is spit up on dray land?  That’s quite a tale!  That will put some fishermen to shame.

The truth is if you begin by saying, “Miracles do not happen because miracles cannot happen” it doesn’t matter what proof is set before you - you will not believe it.  If you start with a God who created the universe by the power of His word this is not a problem.  You don’t need an explanation.

The truth is there are whales and other sea creatures capable of swallowing a man.  For instance the average sperm whale might have a mouth 20 feet long, 15 feet high, and 9 feet wide.  It is know they feed mostly on squid, which are often larger than a man.  According to the Library Research Service of the Encyclopedia Britannica there are documented cases of whalers being swallowed by whales and later cut out of whales still alive.  One such case involved a whaling ship names The Star of the East sailing off the coast of the Falkland Islands in February of 1891. A large sperm whale was spotted and two boats were dispatched.  One of the boats was capsized in the process one sailor drowned, the other, James Bartley disappeared and could not be found.  In time the whale was killed and brought alongside the ship.   It was secured and its blubber removed.  The next day the stomach was hoisted onto the deck.  When opened the missing sailor was found inside.  He was unconscious but alive.  After some time he resumed his duties on board the whaling vessel.

Is it possible Jonah was swallowed by a great fish and survived as the Bible plainly teaches?  Yes, but the real issue is not what went on inside that great fish but rather what went on inside of Jonah? A great transformation took place and from it we learn about genuine repentance.

I want to point out 3 characteristics of genuine repentance from Jonah’s prayer.

1. Genuine repentance begins with an honest assessment of your circumstances.
2. Genuine repentance rightly assigns blame and demands nothing in return.
3. Genuine repentance gladly takes its place in the presence of the ungodly and turns from rebellion to trust in God alone.

This is genuine repentance and without it there is no Gospel, there is no salvation.  May God grant us hearts of genuine repentance continually.

 

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An exposition of Jonah 1:1-16. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, March 7, 2010.

Introduction
As the family set around the table following Sunday dinner, talk turned to Sunday School.  Little Johnny, the 7-year old, was asked what he had learned that day.  “We learned about the children of Israel fleeing Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea.”  Smiling approved dad said, “Why don’t you tell us the story son.”  Johnny took a deep breath and said, “Well, the children of Israel made it as far as the Red Sea when the Egyptian army was gaining on them.  Old Pharaoh had decided it was a mistake to let them go.  The people were real scared but Moses called in some engineers and they built these pontoon bridges that allowed the people to get across the Sea.  Moses made sure that the last group across were special forces soldiers and they planted explosives on the bridges and waited for the Egyptians.  When the Egyptians got on the bridges they set off the explosions and killed the entire Egyptian army!”  The whole family was stunned.  Mom finally said, “Is that what they taught you this morning in Sunday School?”  Johnny, bowing his head in shame, said, “No, but I knew you would never believer the whopper they told us!”

There are those stories that seem unbelievable.  Those biblical accounts that stand out as just too incredible to be true.  And I understand natural minds struggling to believe.  I understand people who begin by saying, “Miracles do not happen because miracles cannot happen” have difficulty accepting the miraculous.  But if you begin with a God who spoke and worlds came into being - then it’s not a problem.  A God who created everything that exists by the power of His word has no trouble parting the Red Sea.  He is not hinder in causing the walls of Jericho to come “tumbling down.”  And He has no problem causing a fish to swallow a man only to spit up on dry ground three days later.  This evening we begin a quick look at the book of Jonah.  The story of Jonah is a familiar tale.  If you’ve been around church awhile you’ve heard the story many times.  Jonah is one of the “Minor Prophets.”  So named not because they are unimportant but because their books are generally shorter than the other prophets.  Jonah, for instance, is just 4 chapters.  The story is told in a straightforward manner.  Through the years some have suggested that it be read as an allegory or a parable.  The problem with that view is that is doesn’t read like a parable.  There are too many details and historical references.  In addition there is nothing in the text to indicate that it should be read anyway other than literal.  In fact Jesus refers to it in a historical sense in Matthew 12:39-40.

We know from a reference in 2 Kings 14:25 that Jonah was from Gath-hepher, a small village 3 miles north of Nazareth in Galilee.  Further we know that he ministered to the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II (782-753 B.C.).  Most likely the events recorded in the book of Jonah happened around 760 during a time of mild decline in the power of the Assyrian empire.  It was also following a time of earthquakes, drought and famine.  Looking at the book as a whole it could be broken down by 4 words - Rebellion (1), Repentance (2), Revival (3) and Regret (4).  It is an interesting tale of God’s sovereignty and mercy; of His judgment and His grace.  This evening we consider the drama of chapter 1.

Text: Jonah 1:1-16

As we work our way through the chapter keep your eye on…

The surprising, fearful and often severe grace of God.

I’ve chosen those words carefully.  I think they’re important because I fear we have a limited understanding of grace.  We tend to think simplistically - law = bad, grace = good.  We think of grace only in terms of “good things” rather than understanding grace is God’s working for our good.  And sometimes the gracious thing is a hard thing.  Sometimes the gracious thing is a painful thing.  Jonah is a great example of what I’m talking about.

There are four acts to the drama of chapter 1.

• Act 1 - A Sovereign and Gracious Call - (1:1-2)
• Act 2 - An Arrogant and Doomed Rebellion - (1:3)
• Act 3 - A Response of Severe Grace - (1:4-15)
• Act 4 - A Surprising Revival - (1:16)

Conclusion:
So what do we learn?  You can resist God’s will.  You can pay the fare and head your own direction but His surprising, fearful and often severe grace will track you down for your good and His glory.