Embracing God's Compassion: Beyond Self-Centered Faith
Summary
### Summary
Good morning, everyone. Today, we continued our discussion on Jonah, focusing on chapters 3 and 4. Jonah's story is well-known for his initial disobedience, being swallowed by a giant fish, and then repenting. However, the story doesn't end there. God called Jonah to go to Nineveh a second time, and this time Jonah obeyed. The people of Nineveh, including their king, repented immediately upon hearing Jonah's message, which led God to show them mercy and spare their city.
The crux of today's message is about understanding God's will not just for our personal lives but for humanity as a whole. Jonah's reluctance to go to Nineveh wasn't out of fear for his safety but because he knew God would show mercy to the Ninevites, whom he despised. This highlights a significant issue many of us face: we may be good Christians, following God's will for our lives, but we often fail to surrender to God's will for others. We become judgmental and self-absorbed, forgetting that God's love and compassion extend to everyone.
God's question to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry?" challenges us to reflect on our own attitudes. Are we more concerned with our comfort and personal relationship with God than with His mission to reach the lost and hurting? Jonah's story reminds us that God's compassion is boundless, and He desires us to be instruments of His grace in the world. We must move beyond our self-centered faith and embrace God's purposes for humanity, showing love and compassion to all, just as He does.
### Key Takeaways
1. God's Call to Obedience is Unchanging: When God calls us to do something, He doesn't change His mind. If we disobey, He brings us back to the point of disobedience until we comply. This was evident in Jonah's life when God called him a second time to go to Nineveh. Our journey with God requires us to return to the starting point of our disobedience and make things right. [43:25]
2. Surrendering to God's Will for Humanity: Many of us are good Christians who follow God's will for our personal lives but fail to surrender to His will for others. Jonah's reluctance to go to Nineveh stemmed from his hatred for the Ninevites and his knowledge that God would show them mercy. We must move beyond our self-centered faith and embrace God's mission to reach the lost and hurting. [46:32]
3. God's Boundless Compassion: God's compassion and mercy are available to everyone, regardless of their past. The Ninevites' immediate repentance and God's subsequent mercy highlight His eagerness to forgive. This should encourage us to extend the same grace and compassion to others, knowing that God is always ready to forgive and restore. [49:36]
4. The Danger of Becoming Judgmental: As we grow closer to God, there's a risk of becoming judgmental if we don't surrender to His purposes for the world. Jonah's judgmental attitude towards the Ninevites serves as a warning. We must guard against self-righteousness and remember that our faith should lead us to love and serve others, not judge them. [55:58]
5. Aligning Our Concerns with God's: God's concerns are for the lost and hurting, while Jonah was more concerned about his comfort. We must align our concerns with God's, focusing on His mission to reach the world. This means being willing to step out of our comfort zones and be instruments of His grace and love in the lives of others. [01:07:45]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[43:25] - God's Call to Obedience
[45:14] - Jonah's Reluctance and God's Persistence
[46:32] - Surrendering to God's Will for Humanity
[48:04] - Jonah's Second Chance
[49:36] - Nineveh's Repentance and God's Mercy
[51:11] - The King's Decree
[52:40] - Jonah's Anger and God's Compassion
[54:19] - Jonah's Complaint
[55:58] - The Danger of Becoming Judgmental
[57:51] - Aligning Our Concerns with God's
[01:00:19] - The Sin of Jonah
[01:02:02] - Reflecting the Real Jesus
[01:04:24] - God's Concern for This Generation
[01:07:45] - Jonah's Misplaced Concerns
[01:09:06] - God's Call to Action
[01:12:47] - Stop Sinning the Sin of Jonah
[01:16:55] - Prayer and Repentance
[01:21:20] - Baptism and Dedication Announcements
[01:24:01] - Closing Remarks and Blessing
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. Jonah 3:1-10 - Jonah's obedience and Nineveh's repentance.
2. Jonah 4:1-11 - Jonah's anger and God's compassion.
#### Observation Questions
1. What was Jonah's initial reaction to God's command to go to Nineveh the second time? How did his actions differ from the first time? ([48:04])
2. How did the people of Nineveh, including their king, respond to Jonah's message? What actions did they take to show their repentance? ([49:36])
3. What was Jonah's reaction to God's mercy towards Nineveh, and how did he express his feelings to God? ([54:19])
4. What question did God ask Jonah to challenge his anger, and what was the significance of this question? ([01:05:47])
#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why do you think Jonah was so reluctant to go to Nineveh, even after experiencing God's mercy himself? ([52:40])
2. How does Jonah's story illustrate the danger of becoming judgmental and self-absorbed in our faith? ([55:58])
3. What does God's question, "Is it right for you to be angry?" reveal about Jonah's understanding of God's compassion and mercy? ([01:05:47])
4. How does the story of Jonah challenge us to align our concerns with God's concerns for the lost and hurting? ([01:07:45])
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you were reluctant to follow God's command. What was the outcome, and how did it affect your faith journey? ([48:04])
2. Jonah was angry because he knew God would show mercy to the Ninevites. Have you ever struggled with accepting God's mercy towards someone you felt didn't deserve it? How did you handle it? ([54:19])
3. In what ways can you move beyond a self-centered faith and embrace God's mission to reach the lost and hurting in your community? ([46:32])
4. How can you guard against becoming judgmental as you grow closer to God? What practical steps can you take to ensure your faith leads you to love and serve others? ([55:58])
5. God's compassion is boundless, and He desires us to be instruments of His grace. Identify one person in your life who needs to experience God's love and compassion. What specific action can you take this week to show them God's grace? ([49:36])
6. Jonah was more concerned about his comfort than God's mission. Are there areas in your life where you prioritize your comfort over God's purposes? How can you realign your priorities? ([01:07:45])
7. Have you ever prayed for God to use you as an extension of His grace in someone else's life? If not, take a moment to pray and ask God to reveal opportunities for you to be His instrument of love and compassion. ([01:01:13])
Devotional
Day 1: Returning to the Point of Disobedience
When God calls us to do something, He doesn't change His mind. If we disobey, He brings us back to the point of disobedience until we comply. This was evident in Jonah's life when God called him a second time to go to Nineveh. Our journey with God requires us to return to the starting point of our disobedience and make things right. Jonah's story teaches us that God's call to obedience is unchanging, and He is persistent in guiding us back to His will. This persistence is not out of punishment but out of His desire for us to fulfill our purpose and grow in our relationship with Him. [43:25]
Jonah 3:1-2 (ESV): "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.'"
Reflection: Is there an area in your life where you have been disobedient to God's call? How can you return to that point and make things right today?
Day 2: Embracing God's Mission for Others
Many of us are good Christians who follow God's will for our personal lives but fail to surrender to His will for others. Jonah's reluctance to go to Nineveh stemmed from his hatred for the Ninevites and his knowledge that God would show them mercy. We must move beyond our self-centered faith and embrace God's mission to reach the lost and hurting. This means recognizing that God's love and compassion extend to everyone, even those we may find difficult to love. By surrendering to God's will for humanity, we become instruments of His grace and love in the world. [46:32]
Matthew 5:44-45 (ESV): "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
Reflection: Think of someone you find difficult to love. How can you show them God's love and compassion today?
Day 3: Extending God's Boundless Compassion
God's compassion and mercy are available to everyone, regardless of their past. The Ninevites' immediate repentance and God's subsequent mercy highlight His eagerness to forgive. This should encourage us to extend the same grace and compassion to others, knowing that God is always ready to forgive and restore. We are called to be reflections of God's boundless compassion, offering forgiveness and love to those around us. By doing so, we participate in God's redemptive work in the world and help others experience His transformative grace. [49:36]
Micah 7:18-19 (ESV): "Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."
Reflection: Is there someone you need to forgive? How can you extend God's compassion and mercy to them today?
Day 4: Guarding Against Judgmental Attitudes
As we grow closer to God, there's a risk of becoming judgmental if we don't surrender to His purposes for the world. Jonah's judgmental attitude towards the Ninevites serves as a warning. We must guard against self-righteousness and remember that our faith should lead us to love and serve others, not judge them. By focusing on God's mission and aligning our hearts with His, we can avoid the trap of judgmentalism and instead become conduits of His grace and love. [55:58]
James 4:11-12 (ESV): "Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?"
Reflection: Reflect on a recent situation where you were judgmental. How can you change your attitude and approach it with God's love and grace?
Day 5: Aligning Our Concerns with God's
God's concerns are for the lost and hurting, while Jonah was more concerned about his comfort. We must align our concerns with God's, focusing on His mission to reach the world. This means being willing to step out of our comfort zones and be instruments of His grace and love in the lives of others. By prioritizing God's concerns over our own, we can participate in His redemptive work and make a meaningful impact in the world. [01:07:45]
Isaiah 58:6-7 (ESV): "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?"
Reflection: What is one area of your life where you can step out of your comfort zone to align your concerns with God's? How can you take action today to be an instrument of His grace and love?
Quotes
1. "Now, it's important to know that when God calls you to obedience he's never going to change you he's never going to change you he's never going to change you change his mind if he calls you to do something you may say yes or no but if you say no he's never going to let you go any further with him until you go back to square one and say okay do you believe that well that's exactly what Jonah did God brought him back to square one but Jonah still had to obey God because that fish didn't drop him off in Nineveh it dropped him off you know where where he was." [43:25] (36 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "Even though many of us are pretty good people we've surrendered to God's personal will for our lives God has a personal will for your life he has a personal will for my life and if you're a believer well for sure you have surrendered to his will for your life because his will for your life is to be born again amen but he has more will for your life so you surrender to God's personal will for your life but the problem with being a good person and maybe quote a good Christian and I'm not making fun of good Christians because I are one and you are one amen it's okay to be a good Christian the problem with that is we've never surrendered to God's will for humanity and we've surrendered to God's will for us personally but we've never said yes to God when it comes to other people we've never surrendered to his purposes outside of us outside of what we want to do or outside of what our life revolves around and that was Jonah's problem." [46:32] (68 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "When God saw what they had done and how they had done it they had put put a stop to their evil ways he changed his mind circle that God changed his mind can God change his mind does that mean he's not perfect no because that's God's sovereign will or excuse me that's God's moral will anyway we'll talk about that another time but when God saw that what they'd done he put us that they put a stop to their evil ways he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened." [52:40] (31 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh because he was afraid of what God would do for the people of Nineveh and he was afraid of what God would do for the Ninevites well Carl that doesn't really make sense see Jonah hated these people we know that right they were wicked and violent but Jonah knew God better than we think he knew God in fact he knew God so well he predicted God's response to the Ninevites he knew God was going to forgive him he knew God was going to have compassion on them that's why he didn't want to go he hated him and this is where the story kind of takes a quit a twist and it opens up a little bit and we get to see actually what's inside Jonah's heart and I think if we look closely and if I look closely we may recognize something and maybe it's something that that's in our heart." [54:19] (52 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "If you ever wonder about God's love for you if you ever wonder about getting outside of God's grace and his forgiveness you need to write this down you need to write this second half of verse 2 this is what Jonah said to God I knew that you were merciful and a compassionate God slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love you are eager underline that circle it you are eager to turn back from destroying people wow what a God we have he's eager to forgive us isn't that great he wants to he goes out of his way to forgive us and give us more grace and more grace but instead of being grateful what did Jonah do well he he got angry at God." [54:19] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
6. "If you're a Christ follower say I am if you're a Christ follower you can become and I can become a judgmental person by becoming a really good person okay now hear me out we can become judgmental the closer and closer to Jesus we get if we've never surrendered to the purposes of God we've surrendered to the our the will of God for our us but we've never surrendered to the will of God for other people therefore we forget to find way and to offer and our sincerity in putting ourselves in to that will of God if we're seres we forget to go out of our way to help someone we forget to give somebody some money if they don't have and sometimes we look down on people that aren't as far along as we are with the Lord." [55:58] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
7. "The danger is that if we're so good at being, quote, good Christians and, quote, good people, we become so self-absorbed that our religion, quote, is all about us. And we forget that God wants us to go out into a lost world and reach them for Christ. He could care less of what we think about how good we are. Because he knows how good we are, right? Without him, we're nothing, are we? We can be 100% surrendered to God's will for our life. But if we never surrender to the purposes of God in the world, then we set ourselves up to be apathetic. And judgmental. It's just true. And we also set ourselves up to be an obstacle for what God wants to do in other people's lives." [01:00:19] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
8. "When they see the real Jesus, not the Jesus that's on TV, not the Jesus that's in somebody else's life that's a jerkwad and doesn't live like they're supposed to. But when they see the real, real Jesus in you, they can't help it. They'll fall in love with him. And isn't it true that the reason so many of you, follow Jesus now, it's not because someone sat down and explained him theologically, but it's that someone sat down and took the time to share their life with you, and you took the time for them to share their life with yourself. Well, I just said that twice. But you know what I mean. You took that time. You cared enough to sit down. And that's what wins people over to Christ. It's not theology. It's not theology. It's not studying. It's loving. Amen?" [01:03:00] (63 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
9. "The minute we're content with just being good people, the minute we're content with just enjoying the blessings of God without much concern for the lost and the hurting, and that's easy to do, isn't it? Man, life is good when you're a Christian. Amen? It's great being a Christian. If you believe that, say, I do. Say, it's great to be a Christian. It's great to be a Christian. It's great to have a God who forgives you. It's great to have a God who meets you the moment you wake up every single day and who's sitting beside you when you go to bed at night. It's wonderful being a Christian. But if that's the extent of our Christianity, shame on us. Shame on me. When we're like that, we become an obstacle. We become an obstacle for what God wants to do through us into someone else's life." [01:03:37] (59 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
10. "God asked Jonah a question. Chapter 4, verse 4. It says this. Is it right for you to be angry about this? Jonah, wasn't it just the other day that you were crying out in despair and you needed my grace and my forgiveness? Wasn't it you who I caused to get spit out on the beach? Wasn't it you, Jonah? You wanted the same grace that I'm offering the Ninevites, but yet you are angry? I'm telling you, this guy has issues. And Jonah didn't answer this question evidently. Verse 5. He just went out to the east. He went outside of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. Probably feeling sorry for himself." [01:05:47] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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