Aligning Our Hearts with God's Love for All

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. Jonah 4:1-11
2. John 3:16
3. 2 Peter 3:9

#### Observation Questions
1. What was Jonah's reaction to God's mercy towards Nineveh, and why did he feel this way? ([41:49])
2. How did God provide for Jonah's comfort in Jonah 4:6, and what was Jonah's response to this provision? ([53:11])
3. What lesson does God teach Jonah through the plant and the worm in Jonah 4:7-10? ([57:39])
4. According to 2 Peter 3:9, what is God's desire for all people, and how does this relate to the story of Jonah? ([01:02:26])

#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why do you think Jonah struggled to accept God's compassion for the Ninevites, and how does this reflect our own struggles with extending grace to others? ([42:48])
2. How does Jonah's concern for the plant over the people of Nineveh reveal his spiritual immaturity? ([58:20])
3. In what ways does the story of Jonah challenge us to align our hearts with God's heart for people? ([01:06:20])
4. How does understanding God's desire for everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9) impact our approach to sharing the gospel? ([01:02:26])

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you were angry or jealous about someone else receiving a blessing. How can you shift your perspective to be joyful over a God who loves everyone? ([42:48])
2. Jonah was more grateful for the plant than for the God who provided it. Are there any blessings in your life that you value more than your relationship with God? How can you cultivate a heart of gratitude for the Giver rather than the gifts? ([56:54])
3. Identify your "Nineveh" – a person or group you find difficult to love. What steps can you take this week to demonstrate God's love and grace to them? ([01:06:20])
4. How can you be more mindful of God's saving grace in your daily interactions? Think of one person you can share the gospel with this week and plan a specific way to do it. ([01:02:26])
5. Spiritual maturity involves loving people who are without God. What practical actions can you take to show love and concern for the lost in your community? ([47:09])
6. Life's true purpose is about reaching people in our "Nineveh." What comfort zones do you need to step out of to engage with those who need God's love and grace? ([01:06:20])
7. Reflect on the pastor's story about praying for the church exterminator. Who is someone in your life that you can start praying for and building a relationship with to share God's love? ([01:09:21])

### Day 1: God's Love for All People

Jonah's anger at God's mercy towards Nineveh reveals a common struggle: failing to see people as God sees them. We must understand that God's love extends to everyone, even those we consider our enemies. This realization should fill us with joy and compel us to love others as God does. Jonah's displeasure at God's compassion for Nineveh highlights our own biases and reluctance to extend God's love beyond our comfort zones. We are challenged to align our hearts with God's, to be joyful over His love, and to see people through His eyes. This means loving those who are difficult to love and extending grace to those we might deem undeserving. [41:49]

**Bible Passage:** "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." (Matthew 5:44-45, ESV)

**Reflection:** Think of someone you find difficult to love. How can you begin to see them through God's eyes and extend His love to them today?


### Day 2: Gratitude for God's Gifts

Jonah was more grateful for the plant providing him shade than for the God who gave it. This highlights a tendency to value God's gifts over God Himself. We should cultivate a heart of gratitude, recognizing that every blessing, including grace and mercy, comes from God. Jonah's story reminds us to be thankful not just for the gifts but for the Giver. It is easy to become attached to the comforts and blessings we receive, but true gratitude acknowledges the source of all good things. By focusing on God rather than His gifts, we develop a deeper relationship with Him and a more profound appreciation for His presence in our lives. [56:54]

**Bible Passage:** "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." (James 1:17, ESV)

**Reflection:** Reflect on a recent blessing in your life. How can you shift your focus from the gift itself to gratitude for the Giver?


### Day 3: Mindfulness of God's Saving Grace

Jonah's story teaches us that God desires mercy over judgment and grace over punishment. We must be mindful of God's saving grace, understanding that He does not want anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. This should drive us to share the gospel with urgency and compassion. Jonah's reluctance to see Nineveh saved mirrors our own hesitations in sharing God's grace with others. Recognizing the depth of God's mercy should inspire us to be active participants in His mission, reaching out to those who are far from Him with the message of salvation. [01:02:26]

**Bible Passage:** "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9, ESV)

**Reflection:** Who in your life needs to hear about God's saving grace? How can you share the gospel with them this week?


### Day 4: Spiritual Maturity and Love for the Lost

A sign of spiritual maturity is loving people who are without God. The more we understand and are filled with God's love, the more we will care about the salvation of others. This love should move us to action, reaching out to those who are far from God. Jonah's story challenges us to grow in our spiritual maturity by developing a heart for the lost. As we deepen our relationship with God, our compassion for those who do not know Him should increase, driving us to share His love and message of salvation with urgency and dedication. [47:09]

**Bible Passage:** "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10, ESV)

**Reflection:** How can you demonstrate God's love to someone who is far from Him today? What practical steps can you take to reach out to them?


### Day 5: Life's True Purpose

Life is not about our comfort or desires but about reaching people in our "Nineveh." We are called to step out of our comfort zones and engage with those who need God's love and grace. This mission should be our primary focus, reflecting God's heart for the lost. Jonah's story ends with a question, leaving us to ponder whether we truly understand and embrace God's heart for people. Identifying our "Nineveh" and actively seeking to reach those who are far from God is a crucial part of our spiritual journey. It requires us to prioritize God's mission over our own comfort and desires. [01:06:20]

**Bible Passage:** "And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.'" (Mark 16:15, ESV)

**Reflection:** What is your "Nineveh"? How can you step out of your comfort zone to reach those who need God's love and grace today?

you for worshiping here at Lake Point.And, uh, man, for God so loved the world, right, that he gave his only begotten son,that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.And that's what we're going to talk about.Actually, we're going to be talking about that a little bit today.You know, Jonah chapter 4 is what we're going to be doing as we finish up our series onthe book of Jonah.And we're going to talk about what matters to God.And you're going to see really quickly what matters to him.We're just saying about it.But God so loves the world.And we're just so glad you're here.Thank you for worshiping.And those watching online, you might be out of town.You might be not doing well at home, just can't make it.But we're so glad that you're with us today as well, watching with us.And as you came in, you should have received a program.Inside the program is a connection card.And I encourage you to fill that out.If you're a first-time guest, welcome.And we're glad you're here.And we've got some of our pastors, Pastor Tom, a worship pastor.He's out of town.He was supposed to have got back last night.But, you know, the airlines, with all the mess that's going on with the airlines.And so they're going to get here Wednesday.That's how far delayed they are.But they'll get here.But Pastor Chris is supposed to have been here, an executive pastor.But he's here.He's taking his daughter.He's going on a mission trip to Paris.He's got to take her to Atlanta because he can't get to Atlanta.So, you know, it's crazy.But, hey, you know, God is in the house.And we're looking forward to seeing what he's going to do here.So, again, if you're a guest, I'd love to meet you after the service.Fill out that connection card.And hope to get to meet you and get to know you a little bit better.So, well, hey, we're going to continue singing here in just a second.But before we do, let's pray.God, we thank you for your great love.You love us so much that you gave your son to die on our behalf.And we live in that freedom, the freedom of salvation that you provided.And so, God, we thank you for all that you're doing.God, we pray for all these pastors that are out of town.Pray for their safety and protection.Pray for those that are not here.Pray for those who are watching us with us online.Pray for us that are in this room.God, I believe that we're all here for a reason.There's something that you want to show us.And so, God, I pray that we will open our eyes, open our ears, open our hearts.Through the singing and worship of your great name and the preaching of your word.In Jesus' name I pray.Amen.Praise the Lord of my soul.Praise the Lord of my soul.Praise the Lord of my soul.Praise the Lord of my soul.guest with us. Thank you for being here. And we got a few things here before we jump into themessage. We've got, you know, we've got mission trips happening. We've got peacemakers, a peacemakertrip, and we got people signing up. It's not too late to sign up. Peacemaker mission trip is inDetroit. And you actually stay down there. They take care of you down there. And so if you'reinterested, you got the information. We got the screen for that, Colton. You have the screen forthe peacemakers. And so that's the information right there. More information about that, we gotthe Amber Lemon. And she'll be out there in the lobby, out by the information table after theservice if you've got any questions about, you know, about mission trip. And then we have anothermission trip in October, Las Vegas. And we've got a group of people there. It's not too late to getconnected to the mission trip. And then we have another mission trip in October, Las Vegas. Andif you want more information, let us know in the back of your connection card. You can justwrite something in the comment section down there and say, hey, I'd like a little bit moreinformation about Vegas. And we will reach out to you with that. And so at the end of a coupleweeks, Baptism Sunday. And it's going to be great. And we've got some people signed up. But if you'rehere and you're like, man, I need to take that next step. I've got Jesus in my life. And I'venever taken that next step in believers' baptism. And I'm going to take that next step in believers'baptism. And it's a really awesome Sunday when we do this. We have the baptism pool right here inthe front. And, you know, we'll dunk you. We'll represent a picture of Jesus' death, burial, andresurrection. And so anyway, we're just, that's coming up. And so if you're interested, sign upon either on the back of your connection card. You can go online to laypointchurch.org,backslash, get, slash, or get-baptized.org.No, that's it. Baptized. You see it right there. There you go. All right. I'm trying to read it fromthe back of my head. Anyway, so listen, we're just glad you're here. So we've got some issueswith the light. So we're working on it. You're like, what is happening here? You know? But we'retrying, you know, we're working. We're doing good. You know, we are doing good. And so we'll make ithappen here. So hey, we're going to wrap up our series on the book of Jonah today. When Jonahchapter 4. Jonah chapter 4. And so we are going to look and see what God has to speak to us. Youknow, whoa. Hey. How you guys doing? There we go. All right. And so Jonah chapter 4. You know,we are very good with the book of Jonah chapter 1, chapter 2, and chapter 3. And then Jonah chapter4 is just interesting, right? And how it ends. In fact, a lot of times we don't quite understand,and Jonah chapter 4. So let me just talk about this. There was a girl that had got home fromschool. And she was so excited about this new story that she learned about. She said, hey, mom,I got this new story about this, you know, the seven dwarves and Snow White. And she told thestory to her mom. And she got down to the part where the prince, you know,misses, you know, you know, Snow White. And she wakes Snow White up from the deep little sleep.And the little girl said, hey, mom, you know what happened then? Of course, the mom said, well,yeah, you know, she lived happily ever after. The little girl said, oh, no. She got married.What? No, don't. We all wish, right? Don't we all wish that every story,has a happy ending? I remember my wife and I, we were newlyweds. And we decided, hey,we're going to watch a show. What shows out there? And, you know, kind of a, and this was back inthe days where you had a VCR, okay? And if you wanted to record something, and you went home torecord it, you set the timer. You know, you do this whole, you know, you do this whole, you know,timer. And you have to make, how many of you remember those days, you know? And then you comehome and you're like, oh, it didn't record because the power went out. Or you had the wrong time. Youhad it set for a.m. and not p.m. And it was like, oh, I mean, you didn't record the show. And thenyou were, man, there was no playback in those days, okay? There was no, there was no, well,hey, I'll just watch it on demand. Some of our young people are like, well, how do y'all live,right? How do you guys survive?You know, we had to wait. You know, if we missed that episode, we had to wait for it, you know,when it came out on a DVD, you know, not even a DVD, a cassette series, you know, and that tooktime, you know, and you rent it. You go to a store called Blockbuster, right? And, you know,and then when you were done with the video, you were supposed to rewind. I just, out of confessionin here, how many of you never rewind after you were done, right? All right. Yeah, you'reone of them, okay? It said, please be kind, rewind, you know? And I always hated when I said,oh, man, someone didn't rewind it. So those were the days, all right? And so we had a showthat was so popular in 2004, the kickoff, that show was called Lost. Remember Lost? It's a pictureof Lost. We got a picture of Lost? I don't know. I'm just trying to figure out. There we go. Lost.And this was,man, they came out and everybody was watching this. It was huge. From 2004 to 2010,this season. And it had all these twists and turns. I mean, it was taking you on a realrollercoaster ride. And then we get to 2010. And then you're like me. We're like, okay,there's five episodes left. How are we going to wrap this thing up? We get down to four episodesand three episodes. Finally, we get to the final episode. And I'm like, I don't know where we'regoing to go with this. And it ends, and it ends terrible. And I'm like, I just wasted six yearsof my life. And it lost, it led us to whatever crazy ending it had. And it left us with so manyThat's what Jonah does. Jonah leaves us hanging a little bit. And that's what Jonahchapter four. See, I wish the story of Jonah had ended with the third chapter. Right? I wish itended. Because if you remember in the third chapter, God called Jonah, you know, a secondtime. He goes and preached to a very wicked city called Nineveh. Jonah obeyed. And then he got tobe part of the greatest revival that we can see here in this chapter. And he got to be part of thegreatest revival that we can see here in this chapter. And if the story had just stopped at theend of chapter three. Now, everybody wins. Right? An entire city, you know, is spared, saved fromdestruction. Jonah, he wins the Nobel Prize. Right? I mean, everything's good. God is glorifiedthrough the obedience of his prophet and the people of Nineveh. And all this is happening.But beginning in chapter four, we read this one word. And this one word caused Jonah so much griefand so much heartache. It cost him so much peace and so much happiness. And it's the very firstword of chapter four. Jonah chapter four, verse one. It's the word, but. And we know enough aboutit. We know enough to know that that word, it's not a great word. It's actually a sad ending to whatreally would have been a very good ending of a story. But what it does in chapter four, it teachesus one of the greatest lessons that we will ever learn about God and about ourselves. And that is,what really matters? What really matters? And here's what we're going to learnin this last chapter, which is really the lesson of the entire book. So take a note. This is thekey takeaway. What really matters to God is people. For God so loved the world. And Jonah,he never understood this. He never got it. He never understood it. And sadly,many Christians and many churches don't get it either. What really matters toGod should really matter to us. And until we see God for who he is, and we see people the way Godsees them, we will never understand what really matters. Because once we get there, once weunderstand that, the three things should happen in our lives. Three things. And I want to look atthese three things, and this will really tell you whether or not what really matters to you is what youreally matters to God matters to you.And if I pray this, by the end of this message today,your eyes, like I said, will be open and say,God, help me to see people the way you see people.Help me to see them.Help me to care.Help me to see that it matters, that it matters.How do you know if you care about what matters to God?If you're taking notes, if it matters to you, number one,we should be joyful over a God who loves.If it matters to you, we should be joyful over a God who loves.If we look back at Jonah chapter 4, verse 1,but to Jonah, this seemed very wrong.The Bible says that he became angry.Now, what was Jonah so angry about?Well, he was angry over what?Well, what had happened at the end of chapter 3.He was angry that God had spared the lives of the Ninevites.God had seen how the people repented,how there was a revival,and rather than pouring out his judgment on the Ninevites,God gave them mercy.And Jonah was just angry.He was angry.He was mad.And to be honest, and I want you to be honest with me,have you ever been angry?Have you ever been jealous, bitter?Have you ever been frustrated that something good happened to somebody else?Have you ever been that person that, oh, man, that's not fair?You know, I deserve it more than he or she did.You know, maybe you really get frustrated and mad about it,over someone who gets something good,someone that you don't even like.You say, man, I don't even like them.You know, and something good happened to them.They've got good karma instead of the bad karma.And we get frustrated.Jonah, he's angry because God had shown mercy,not just to a sinful city, right,but to Nineveh, which is the arsh enemy.Right?They are the arsh enemy of his nation.This was a pagan city.Remember how wicked they were?You know, and it was a wicked city.This was a city despised by every Jew,and everything that every Jew had stood for.And so Jonah, I mean, he's just angry because, you know,he just didn't like that God saved his arsh enemies.And so Jonah was angry because God was just being God.God was just being who he is.Look.Look here, verse number two.He said, Jonah prayed to the Lord.And this is the conversation.I mean, I love the, you know, the conversations happening with God.Sometimes we pray with these flowery language.We kind of go through the motions.Jonah's getting real, he's getting very raw here.He's telling God what he really feels.And he said, God, isn't this what I said when I was still at home?This is what I tried to forestall.This isI knew, God, that you were a compassionate God.That you're slow to anger.You're abounding in love.You're a God who relents from sinning calamities.If you really want to know what the story of Jonah is really all about,you just read it in that verse.That God is a God of love.He prefers, God prefers,He prefers mercy over wrath.He prefers forgiveness over punishment.That he prefers grace over judgment.Why?Because he is a God that loves everybody.Even the Ninevites.That's who he is.God cannot change the fact that he is love.That he loves people.And Jonah here, he said, God,I can understand how you love me.I am a Jew, right?Jonah said, I'm a Jew.I'm a prophet.I lived a good life.But how in the world, God, could you love them?How could you love those people?And we do the same thing.We'll say, God, I understand why you love me.Hey, God, I go to church.God, hey, I served.Now, I'm a good Christian.Hey, I understand, God, why you love me.Hey, I give.You know, hey, I'm here at least two times a month.You know, I'm doing good.Hey, God, I'm good.We sometimes get the idea that God really only loves people like us.What Jonah didn't understand is that God loves everybody equally.In fact, I believe that this is a sign for us.If you're taking notes, this is a sign of spiritual maturity.You want to know that you're growing in the Lord?You want to know that you're maturing in your faith?It's this thought right here.The more you understand the love of God,and the more that you are filled with the love of God,then the more that you will love people who are without God.I mean, that should be one of the fruits of our walk with God,that we love people where they're at,and that we care about them,that lost people,that people are dying and will go to hellunless they know Jesus.And we are concerned for lost people.And the more you understand the love of God,the more you are filled with the love of God,the more you will love people who are without.Now, unfortunately, what we see here is Jonah was really showingthat he was farther away from God in some waysthan the people in Nineveh.The prophet of God, the evangelist,in his heart, he's farther away from God in some ways.And here's what happens when you stop being joyfulover a God who loves you and loves everybody.When you stop loving people and loving the peoplethat God loves, even if you don't like them,you say, man, but God loves them,and you stop loving them, then you become a spiritual racist.You begin to say, hey, they don't matter to God.I matter to God.People like me matter to God.We become a spiritual racist.Let me say it in a different way.The most selfish people on earth are people who don't carewhether other people go to heavenas long as they get there themselves.The most selfish people on earth just don't care about anybody else.They just say, hey, as long as I get there,I don't care about anybody else.And that's why it's hard to accept the invitationthat the invitation that Jonah gave to his wife,his little pity party in verses 3 and 4.Look at verse 3 and 4.It's hard for us to understand it.He said, Lord, now, Lord, take away my life,for it is better for me to die than to live.But the Lord replied, is it right for you to be angry?Now, I find it interesting.Jonah didn't say this while he was in the belly of a fishfor three days and three nights.He didn't say, God, take me to heaven.Take me now.I'd rather die here.He didn't say that in the belly.And he would have.He died in the belly of that great fishhad it not been for God to save his life.But what Jonah didn't understand is thatit's what many of us sometimes forget,that a prophet is just as much in needof the grace of God as a pagan.This prophet of man, this evangelist,this preacher is just as much in needof the grace of God as a pagan man,a pagan woman.We ought to be joyful that God loves the Muslimsjust as much as he loves the Methodists.We ought to be joyful that God loves the Buddhistsjust as much as he loves the Baptists.We ought to be joyful that God loves the paganjust as much as he loves the Pentecostals.He loves those outside the churchjust as much as he loves those who are inside the church.And that is also why those outside the church,should feel most loved by those who are inside the church.This happens when those that are inside the churchunderstand what really matters.They become joyful over a God who loves.God is love.We say this from time to time.It is okay for people not to be okay to come to Lake Point.Come as you are.No perfect people are allowed.It's okay not to be okay.On the flip side of the coin,it's not okay to stay not okay.You know, we ought to grow in our walk.There are things in my life that,okay, God, that's not okay, and I need to be changed.You know, God still sees sin.God still sees Ninevites.I mean, the Ninevites had a,they were limited in his mercy and grace.They had 40 days.God loved them enough to send a prophetto give them one last wake-up call.To make a change.God is love.We need to understand that.How do you know if you care about what matters to God?If it matters to you, number two,we should be grateful for a God who gives.We should be grateful for a God who gives.Jonah chapter 4 verse 5 and verse 6.So now Jonah, he goes out, right?Goes outside of the city.Sat down at a place east of the city.And there he made himself a shelter,sat in its shade,and waited to see what would happen to the city.Then the Lord God provided a leafy plantand made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his headto ease his discomfort.And Jonah was very happy about the plant.I know, that spotlight is driving me crazy.You've been chosen, my son..Is there a way to just unplug it?All right.We are going to keep preaching.Listen, our tech team are doing a fantastic job.They're doing the best they can.Let's give it up for them.Give it up for them.We're going to blame this on Tom.Tom's not here.Hey, Tom, if you're watching this online, hey.Oh, man.If it matters to God,we will be grateful for a Godwho gives.Now, we see here in these two verses that I just read.I'm going to read it again because I think most of usdidn't hear it when I read it.All right, so Jonah leaves the city of Ninevehfinds a shelter.He's waiting to see what happens to the city.I think there's a part of him that still wants to seethe city destroyed, right?Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant.By the way, remember who he provided in chapter 1?He provided a great fish.Now he provided a leafy plant.And he made it grow up over Jonahto give shade for his head,to ease his discomfort.And Jonah was very happy about the plant.Now, we see Mr. Pouting profit.He's pouting.He's enjoying his pity partywhile sitting out in the blazing hot sun,just hoping to see this city go up in smoke.Now, remember, this area, this is modern-day Iraq.And in the middle of the day,the temperature was probably up in the hundreds,110, maybe even 120 degrees.And so, once again, while Jonah's sitting out there,God gives Jonah something he doesn't deserve.He gives him a large plant leafthat provides shade and refreshment.And that leaf was a gift, was a gift of grace.Jonah didn't deserve it.You know what Jonah deserved?He deserved a bad sunburn.That's what he deserves.You know, he is so mad at God.You know, Jonah, and so God gives him this plant,and Jonah never even bothered to ask, you know,to ask God where did this miraculous plant come from.And so, but we see that he's very happybecause of the plant.Jonah was more grateful for the giftthan he was for the giver.Jonah was more grateful for the plantthan he was for the provider.Just about the time that Jonah is settling down in the shade,drinking his lemonade,God pulled the rug from underneath him.Look at verse number seven.But at dawn the next day, God provided a worm,which chewed the plant so that it withered.When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind,and the sun blazed on Jonah's headso that he grew faint.He wanted to die.He said, it would be better for me to die than to live.But God said to Jonah, is it right for mefor you to be angry about the plant?It is, he said.I'm so angry.I wish I were dead.But the Lord said, you have been concerned about this plant,though you did not tend it or make it grow.It sprang up overnight and it died overnight.You know, if you really want to knowwhat a person is really like,you can ask these three questions.You know, what makes them laugh?What makes them cry?And what makes them angry?We can learn a lot about Jonah here.What makes him angry?Jonah, if you take a note, was more concerned about a plantthan he was about people.Jonah was more concerned about a plantthan he was about people.Jonah was more concerned about shadethan he was about souls.And Jonah had more pity and more passion for material thingsthan he did for spiritual things.We should be grateful for a God who gives us grace,love, mercy, forgiveness, compassion,even when we don't deserve it.None of us deserve it.None of us deserve it.Hey, I look back on my life and say, God,you have blessed us in so many different ways.I don't deserve any of it.You have blessed us with a church buildingwith a blinking light.At the end of the day, we don't deserve any of it.I remember the day when we didn't have a building.And then when I went to Africa,I said, my God, we are so blessed.We are so blessed.And don't take much for us to complain.When you spend some time in a third world country,you look back and say, man, we're so spoiled.We have it so well, so good.And at the same time, we don't deserve any of it.We should be grateful for a God who gives,who gives that same grace,who gives us that same mercy and forgivenessto us and to others.Grateful for a God who gives.Number three, how do you know if you care aboutwhat matters to God?If it matters to you, we should be mindfulof a God who saves.Chapter 4, verse 10 and 11, this is the last two verses.But the Lord said, You have been concernedabout this plant, Jonah, though you did not tend itor make it grow.It sprang up overnight and it died overnight.And should I not have concern for the great city of Ninevehin which there are more than 120,000 peoplewho cannot tell their right hand from their leftand also many animals?You notice that Jonah does not answer the question.It's a cliffhanger, right?And I believe that the reason he knows,the reason that he doesn't answer the questionis he knows the answer.That's what I believe.Think about it.What God is saying to Jonah was this,Hey, Jonah, you are so concerned about the people,that the people of Nineveh are not gettingwhat they deserved.But you have also forgotten that you alsodon't deserve it either.You also didn't get what you deserve.And the major difference between,the God that you and I serve,and the God that every other God,that every other person in this world serves,the big difference.All the other gods, all the other religions,the big difference between Jehovah GodIt is true that Nineveh did not get what they deserved.But this is the lesson that God wanted to teach Jonah and us,that God doesn't want anyone to get what they deserve.2 Peter 3, verse 9,The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,as some understand slowness.Instead, he is patient, waiting for you,not wanting anyone to perish,for everyone to come to repentance.He's waiting, waiting for you.And again, your level of spiritual maturitycan be determined by this question,how much of what concerns Godconcerns me?That's the mark.Well, how much of what concerns Godconcerns you?Now, next year, we'll be celebrating15 years of Lake Point Church,And it's so easy to focus on us.It's so easy to focus on what we're doingand at the same time misswhat God wants us to be all about.It's so easy to get caught upin the programmingall the things that we're doingand we miss what God wants us to be all about.And that is, it's all about reaching peopleand making disciples.That's what it matters.That's the great commission.That's what we should be all about here.We can get all caught up in everything else.I'm not saying they're bad things.Good things, we do a lot of good things.If we're not careful, we can missthe most important things.You know what concerns God?The people of Nineveh.The people of Nineveh, they come here every week.They're here among us.They walk through these doors every Sundayand they're asking a question to themselves.They're asking a question,does anyone in this church care about me?They're walking through,does anybody care about me?And here's the lesson I hope Jonah heard,the lesson I hope you hear today.Jonah, Scott, Karen, Art,here's the lesson.Life is not about me.It's not about your anger.It's not about your unforgiveness.But life is about Nineveh.Life is about reaching peoplewho are in our world,in our quote unquote Nineveh.What is Nineveh?Nineveh is when you walk out of your front doorand you immediately lock eyes with someone.That's Nineveh because we live in a world todaywhere marriages,are falling apart,where kids don't have dads,where homeless don't have food,homeless don't have shelter.That's Nineveh.You see, life is all about us sometimes.I got my car.Life is good.Got my paycheck.Ah, people are hurting but I'm fine.We're in Nineveh.And life is not about us.Life is not about me.Life is about reaching people in Nineveh.Can you imagine what would happenas a church,if Lake Point Church came togetherand we say,God, I'm not going to run anymore.I'm not going to be like Jonah and run.I'm going to run towards your divine appointment.God, I'm going to do what you want me to do.I'm going to go to Nineveh.I don't care what it costs me.I don't care how bad it hurts.I'm going to do what you have called me to doand I'm going to go to Nineveh.I'm going to invite my neighbor over for dinner.I'm going to build a relationship with him.I'm going to paint somebody's house.I'm going to mow their yard.I'm going to build relationships.You know, I'm going to go visit people in prisonand visit with an inmate.I'm going to extend somebody's gracethat doesn't deserve it.God, I am committed to go to Nineveh.Can you imagine the lives that are going to be changedwhen we have that mindset?See, life is not about us.Life is short.Short and eternity is long.And hell is forever.Forever hot.should concern us.It should matter.We need to be mindful of a God who saves.So Jonah, he ends the book,he ends chapter 4 with a question.Did Jonah ever get it?Did he ever get it?I like to think that he doesbecause most scholars think that Jonah himself wrote the book,which means he's posing the question,which means that he got it.But it's left as a questionbecause it's a question for you and me.Do we get it?Do we get it?Do people matter to you?And so your takeaway this week,on the back of your connection card,Lord, I need to identify my Nineveh,whoever that is.Start praying for God to open the doorto reach that person.I've been praying for this guy in my life.he's the church exterminator.He comes once a month to pray for spiders, bugs.And he comes to my office and prays,and then he says, sit down.He's his own boss,so he can do whatever he wants to do, right?He says, sit down and I'll stop what I'm doing.I said, Lord, he's here for a reason.He sits in my chair.We'll talk for 20, 30 minutes.You know, we've been building this relationshipand praying for him.said, you know, Ron, you got to come to church.I tried to get him to the mafia guy, you know.Oh, man, that sounds great.He didn't come.I said, oh, man, I was busy.I forgot about it.You know, it's got to be an excuse, you know.I said, hey, I told Ron, I said, Ron, one of these days,you're going to come, and I'm going to,if you come to church, I told him, come to church,and I'll take you to the best steakhouse around here.Whatever that is, Mr. Paul, I guess.You know, 22-mile steakhouse, whatever.You know, I'll take you to, all right, man,I'll take you up on it.They're waiting.Not giving up.It's my Nineveh.I've got some others.Let me ask you, who is your Nineveh?I said, I'm going to stop praying for that person.The most pagan person, they don't deserve it.But God loves them.God loves her.I pray that God would use you because, my friend,you may be the only person in the world that can reachthat person.You may be the only person for the Lord.Not me.Not the person sitting next to you.Just you.You know, just this fall, I'm doing a class, right?I'm doing an evangelism class, and part of our next stepclasses that we have.A few here says, God, I don't know how to share my faith.I think every Christian should know how to do that.I know it's intimidating.I know that sounds scary.But I think it's something you need to know.And so, I'm doing a class this fall.I think in about a month, you know, beginning of September,we'll start promoting out to different life groups.And I invite you to be, if you're not, man,I don't know how to do that.I don't know how to share my faith.I invite you to come to that class.Man, we're going to have fun.I'm teaching it.I'm telling you, I told Dave, Dave had me teach in, you know,another class.I said, man, Dave, I love doing that.But man, you're doing that evangelism class.Let me do that.That gets me fired up.I want to encourage you.Start praying for God.By the way, that's a dangerous prayer.When you start asking God for open doors, newsflash,that's a prayer that God likes to answer.You pray that prayer.I promise you, if you pray that prayer in the morning,by the end of the day, you'll say, oh, I have a door.It's up to you to do something about it.There are people looking and waiting.I pray that you will reach people where they're at.Some of you are thinking, I know someone, but he's so pagan.Hey, think about the most pagan people you know.God loves him.God loves her.They need Jesus.So Jonah, we end up Jonah here.And that's the message.God is the God of grace and love.And it's available to everyone.So don't be like Jonah and run from the purpose and the assignment of God,but to go through those doors.And tell the Ninevites of our world that God loves them.And he died for you.And you want to come into their life.God, we thank you today for all of us here.God, I pray we never lose our compassion for lost people.I pray that we, that our hearts would get stirred up about the people we work with.Maybe the people that we live with.The people in our neighborhoods.The people that we work out with.The people that we play golf with.The people that we go see to cut our hairs, do our nails.The relationship that we have.God, I pray that it's not just enough for us to just be a good person,be a good Christian around them.that we will open our mouths in the best way that we know how.God, the Holy Spirit, I believe, will help us.It may be as simple as a church invitation.But God, help us and use us to be concerned what concerns you most.In Jesus' name I pray.Amen.Amen.But hey, just a second here.Just a reminder.Baptism Sunday in a couple weeks.And so.I invite you to be a part of that.And if you're here today.You're like, man, I need to take that next step.If you've got questions, reach out to us.And we'd love to talk to you about what that means.And what it means to take that next step in your faith with Christ.And so, just a real quick update.Next Sunday we're starting a brand new message series.Listen, I'm really excited about this.And I don't have the title up here.But the title of it is, This Verse Changed My Life.That's the series.And here's what you're going to hear.You're going to hear from all of our pastors in the next four or five weeks.You're going to hear how God changed their life through a verse.And you're going to hear their stories.You're going to get to know the pastors and some of our leaders here in our church.Next Sunday, Pastor Chris is going to be preaching.And he's going to share.You know, that moment.And listen, I think truth be told, y'all had some verses.You know, man, this was a defining verse right here.You know, it hit me right here in the middle of the forehead.Now, Pastor Dave, you know, I don't know where he went.But here he is.Pastor Dave is going to be preaching in a couple weeks.Pastor Tom.Corey.Corey, are you the pastor?Yeah?Yeah?He's going to be preaching.I'll preach.Then Karen, she's going to testify.Okay?She's going to come and she can share what God had done in her life in the first.And just kind of share.So we'll get to hear from my sister.God, you're really taking some time off.I am.We're leaving this afternoon or tomorrow.We're trying to figure that out.We're headed out to Colorado for the next three weeks.She said, man, you know, God has blessed us with some vacation time.we've never taken a long vacation like this.And I have been in full-time ministry for 25 years.I said, Karen, let's take a little extra time here on vacation, you know, get a little good refresh.And then I come back, and I got another good 25 years to go, okay?So be praying for us as we travel.Travel, and we had plans, you know, for us this afternoon, my son and I, to drive out this afternoon.And, you know, Karen and Abigail to fly them on Tuesday to Denver for two reasons.Number one, so that we can get there.Otherwise, we'll never get there, you know.We've got to stop every 30 minutes, you know.Not you, Abigail, right?But no, seriously, we just thought that would be helpful for Karen's back, you know.And it's just helpful to have a fresh back and want to be out along.It's a hard drive out there.And I was driving out to Colorado, 1,300 miles.But then with Delta, you know, flying out Delta and Tuesday, and it's haywire.I mean, all the flights are canceled because they don't have pilots, and they don't have crew members.And I got to thinking, I think the rapture happened and only took pilots and crew members because they're gone.We're all left behind, you know.So we're probably going to be, hey, Kim, I think you're going to be driving.So if that's the case, we're leaving tomorrow morning.So just pray for us.Pray for refreshments that we need.Pray for our family.And listen, our church is going to be in great hands.And we'll be watching from afar.It's going to be an awesome, awesome series.You get to hear from the heart of our pastors and our staff members.And I know you'll be blessed by the different messages in the next couple weeks.So let's all stand.Hey, we've got the lights figured out.All right.One of those days, huh?One of those days.It happens, right?You know, we control what we can and do the best we can on everything else.But, hey, at the end of the day, God is so good.He really is, right?Our prayer team is going to come up here to the front.And if you want to pray with someone that was dismissed, if you are a guest, please stop by and see me.I'll be out here in the lobby.Got a free bag, a free gift to give to you.And I'd love to meet you real quick.And thank you for coming.Thank you for coming.And just last week, the financial report, you know, our first six months, we have those available at the information table.Also, our mission trip information, see Amber at the information table as well.Let's close in prayer and we'll be dismissed.Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for what you're doing in our lives and our church.I pray for your blessing as we go about this week.In Jesus' name, amen.

### Quotes for Outreach

1. "What really matters to God is people. For God so loved the world. And Jonah, he never understood this. He never got it. He never understood it. And sadly, many Christians and many churches don't get it either. What really matters to God should really matter to us. And until we see God for who he is, and we see people the way God sees them, we will never understand what really matters." [40:42] (52 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "The more you understand the love of God, and the more that you are filled with the love of God, then the more that you will love people who are without God. I mean, that should be one of the fruits of our walk with God, that we love people where they're at, and that we care about them, that lost people, that people are dying and will go to hell unless they know Jesus." [47:09] (39 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "We ought to be joyful that God loves the Muslims just as much as he loves the Methodists. We ought to be joyful that God loves the Buddhists just as much as he loves the Baptists. We ought to be joyful that God loves the pagan just as much as he loves the Pentecostals. He loves those outside the church just as much as he loves those who are inside the church." [50:35] (34 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "Life is not about me. It's not about your anger. It's not about your unforgiveness. But life is about Nineveh. Life is about reaching people who are in our world, in our quote unquote Nineveh. What is Nineveh? Nineveh is when you walk out of your front door and you immediately lock eyes with someone. That's Nineveh because we live in a world today where marriages, are falling apart, where kids don't have dads, where homeless don't have food, homeless don't have shelter. That's Nineveh." [01:05:01] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "Can you imagine what would happen as a church, if Lake Point Church came together and we say, God, I'm not going to run anymore. I'm not going to be like Jonah and run. I'm going to run towards your divine appointment. God, I'm going to do what you want me to do. I'm going to go to Nineveh. I don't care what it costs me. I don't care how bad it hurts. I'm going to do what you have called me to do and I'm going to go to Nineveh." [01:06:20] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




### Quotes for Members

1. "Jonah was more grateful for the gift than he was for the giver. Jonah was more grateful for the plant than he was for the provider. Just about the time that Jonah is settling down in the shade, drinking his lemonade, God pulled the rug from underneath him. Look at verse number seven. But at dawn the next day, God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered." [56:54] (26 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "Jonah was more concerned about a plant than he was about people. Jonah was more concerned about shade than he was about souls. And Jonah had more pity and more passion for material things than he did for spiritual things. We should be grateful for a God who gives us grace, love, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, even when we don't deserve it. None of us deserve it." [58:20] (37 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "The most selfish people on earth are people who don't care whether other people go to heaven as long as they get there themselves. The most selfish people on earth just don't care about anybody else. They just say, hey, as long as I get there, I don't care about anybody else. And that's why it's hard to accept the invitation that the invitation that Jonah gave to his wife, his little pity party in verses 3 and 4." [49:01] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "And the major difference between, the God that you and I serve, and the God that every other God, that every other person in this world serves, the big difference. All the other gods, all the other religions, the big difference between Jehovah God It is true that Nineveh did not get what they deserved. But this is the lesson that God wanted to teach Jonah and us, that God doesn't want anyone to get what they deserve." [01:02:26] (49 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "And again, your level of spiritual maturity can be determined by this question, how much of what concerns God concerns me? That's the mark. Well, how much of what concerns God concerns you? Now, next year, we'll be celebrating 15 years of Lake Point Church, And it's so easy to focus on us. It's so easy to focus on what we're doing and at the same time miss what God wants us to be all about." [01:03:23] (49 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)