Live Like You Know Your God

A Good Man Finally Reveals His True Colors

When God saw what the people of Nineveh did—how they turned from their evil ways—He relented of the disaster He had threatened. But then something shocking happens. Jonah was exceedingly displeased and angry.

You see, Jonah knew all along why he ran from God's command. He knew that God was gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He knew God would forgive the Ninevites—the very people he hated, the people who had brutalized his nation, his family, and his friends. And he didn't like that about God.

Jonah is disappointed with God. He doesn't like the Ninevites, and now he doesn't like God either. I wonder how that lands on us when God asks us to bless those we think don't deserve it.

Let me share a story. Back in 2012, I traveled to Lebanon during the Syrian refugee crisis. A woman working at a seminary there told me: "For almost three decades, the Syrians occupied Lebanon. They killed our men. My father went missing and I've never seen him since. They raped our women. They destroyed our country. And now they come back with a civil war in their own country, asking us for shelter, food, education, and jobs. Do you understand how hard it is to really love them and care for them?"

Before we judge Jonah, we need to check our own hearts.

A Good Man Is Exposed by His Gracious God

Jonah exposed himself when he revealed why he ran and why he's angry. But God exposes him even more—because that's how God works with us.

Jonah sits east of the city, waiting. He hasn't given up on God. He's thinking, "God, you have to come through for me. Wipe these people out. Bring down fire from heaven. That's justice. I'm going to wait here to see what you do."

But then God appointed a plant to grow over Jonah, giving him shade and comfort. Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered. Then God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah's head until he grew faint and asked to die.

Notice the contrast: Jonah sees the people of Nineveh forgiven and he's mad. He gets a plant for comfort and he's happy. Do we have the same problem? We love the comforts of God. We love His gifts. But our hearts are not touched for those things that touch the heart of God.

God uses the same phrase three times: "God appointed." God is lovingly pulling back the layers of Jonah's life, saying, "Don't you see your heart? Don't you see something is wrong?"

Here's what's powerful: God cared about Nineveh, so He forgave them. But God also cared about Jonah's heart, so He exposed it. God cares about people who live 7,000 miles away from this place today. But He cares about your heart and my heart. Isn't that an amazing truth about God?

And notice—God isn't an angry father pounding down on Jonah. He's asking lovingly, "Jonah, Jonah, do you have a reason to be angry? Why in the world are you angry?" A loving father.

A Good Man Is Asked a Question We Must All Answer

God then asks Jonah the final question: "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. And should I not 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 so much cattle?"

Nineveh represents people who have never had a chance to respond to the truth. And God says, "Jonah, look at what you love. Look at what you care for. Those are things I gave you. Should I not care for people that I've made in my image? Should I not care for people I've created who might step into a Christless eternity?"

Do you hear the voice of God speaking to us this morning?

Here's something remarkable: the book of Jonah has no resolution. The plane never lands. We don't know what Jonah did—whether he repented or became a bitter, angry old man. And God's answer is: It doesn't matter about Jonah. The question is you, the reader.

If we close our Bibles this morning and walk out without asking ourselves some hard questions, we've missed why God preserved this book for us.

Three Questions for Us

Will We Care About What God Cares About?

I ask myself: Will I care about that which God cares about? I confess, I get absorbed in my little world. Too often my world is everything to me and has nothing to do with God. Jonah was all about himself.

Here's a truth I've been saying for the last two to three years: God in eternity determined to relentlessly pursue people from every nation, every tribe, every tongue for His eternal glory and our eternal good.

Do you see why the book of Jonah is there? Do you see God pursuing the people of Nineveh? Before the foundations of the world, He knew you. And He started running after you before time began. Aren't you glad for that?

Listen carefully: If you do not understand that truth about the Bible, you really don't understand your Bible. In Genesis 3, Eden is destroyed by sin. In Revelation 22, when everything is said and done, Eden is restored. What is God doing between Genesis 3 and Revelation 22? He is pursuing people to restore Eden.

Here's something really cool: In Genesis 11, at the Tower of Babel, people spoke the same language. God, in His judgment, confused their languages, and they scattered around the globe. But in that judgment, listen carefully, God showed mercy. Why? Because in Revelation 5, when John looks into the heavens, what does he see around the throne of the Lamb of Jesus? People from every tongue and every nation and every people group. Heaven is made beautiful because of people from every tribe, every tongue, and every nation.

Right now, there are 3 billion people on planet Earth who have never had a chance to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no church in their village, their city, or their nation. When was the last time we prayed for them? When was the last time we said, "I can't go, but I want to help them go. I'll pray for them. I'll give to them so that they can go"?

Do you realize that only 2% of the average church's giving and people go to the 3 billion who need it the most?

And do you want to know how serious God is about reaching those people? The ultimate act of judgment and mercy: He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross. The name Jesus means "God saves." That's what Scripture is about. God saves.

Will We Give Mercy as God Has Given Us Mercy?

Now I'm getting personal: Are we loving God's grace and mercy to us while refusing to give it to others?

I know it's difficult sometimes to extend forgiveness, grace, and mercy. I know in this room there are people with obvious scars, wounded very deeply, with hurt that will last a lifetime. I wonder what God says? Show mercy like I have shown you mercy. Show grace. Show forgiveness.

It doesn't mean it will change the other person. Maybe it's too late. But it does open the door for reconciliation. When we act like God. And more than that, it frees us from the bondage of bitterness, resentment, and anger.

I know in my own life I've been hurt. People have talked about me. As a leader, you can't respond. You just take the attack. And I know how hard it is to forgive. I don't forget, but I know how hard it is to forgive. I know how hard it is to show mercy. But God in His grace helps us—really helps us do that.

Jesus says in the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the merciful because they will receive mercy." To experience the mercy of God to its fullest measure, I must show mercy and grace. That's what God wanted from Jonah.

Have You Given Up on God?

Now I'm going to get really personal: Have you given up on God?

Jonah gave up on God. In our own rebellion and disobedience, have we said, "God, I've had enough with you. I've had enough with Your way. I've had enough with doing things the way You want me to do them. God, I'm done"?

And from all appearances, we're here. We have an incredible resume. People say we're good individuals. But sitting here, we know we're living in disobedience to God. Maybe our spouse doesn't even know what we're up to. From all appearances, all is good. And there's a voice crying out in the distance: "Hey there, are you okay? Are you really okay?"

Here's what I want you to know: You may have given up on God, but God has not given up on you. That's good news.

We might give up on God, but our God is a God who relentlessly pursues all of us, even in our sin. Jonah rebeled against God, and God came back again and again and again. "Jonah, don't you see? Don't you understand My mercy and My grace to you?"

He is a God of second chances. Our God is not only a God of second chances, but of ten chances, a hundred chances, a thousand chances. That is what our God is like.

You might be sitting here in rebellion against God, but the promise is still true: His mercies are new every morning. That's the kind of God we have. He has mercies for you today, even in that spot of rebellion.

I love the picture of God. He is a loving Father. When we act like the prodigal and run in the opposite direction, He goes out eagerly waiting for us to return. His arms are open wide. He does not send us to our room when we come home. He does not take out His anger against us punitively. Rather, He takes His arms and puts them around us and says, "Welcome home. We're throwing a party. My son who was gone is now home."

That's the God of Jonah. That's the God we serve.

Listen to what King David wrote in Psalm 103:

The Lord is compassionate and He is gracious. He is slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Listen, friends: I do not understand this, but when I confess my sins to God, He forgives them. He forgets them. He removes them as far as the east is from the west. And if I ever bring it up in the presence of God again, He'll say, "What sin?"

That's the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Maybe this morning you've walked in here and all seems good, and you've heard that voice saying, "Is everything okay?" Are you really okay? Or maybe you've walked in here and your life is a wreck, and you hear that voice saying, "Is everything okay?" Hear those encouraging words: He is a gracious, compassionate Father.

May God take His word and apply it to our lives.