AWAKE: THE CALL TO A RENEWED LIFE

Transcription

1 88 AWAKE: THE CALL TO A RENEWED LIFE

2 It s time to wake up! Nothing refreshes like a good night s sleep. And who doesn t enjoy the occasional afternoon nap? In at least one way, though, sleep is not good for us. In fact, it can be dangerous. I m talking about being spiritually asleep. Life has a way of lulling us to sleep spiritually. If we allow ourselves to settle into a spiritual snooze, after awhile we simply die spiritually. Our greatest need as believers is to experience a spiritual renewal from God, and that s the whole point of this study. I must warn you, though: this is not a study for those who want to maintain the status quo. When the Holy Spirit begins to bring renewal in our lives, things will change. We will look at several places in the Bible where God called people to return to Him. It s a call for us, too a call to experience revival and awakening personally and in our churches. As people have turned back to God, He has done extraordinary things and sparked great movements. Wouldn t you like to see God do that again? Join me on the journey of asking God to bring about the next great movement of renewal and turning back to Him. Ronnie Floyd Ronnie Floyd has served as the senior pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas for more than 28 years. In addition to serving as the general editor for Bible Studies for Life, Dr. Floyd was elected in 2014 to serve as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Read Ronnie s blog at Follow him on 89

3 SESSION 7 RETURN TO GOD 90 SeSSion 7

4 GET INTO THE STUDY The Point God s call to return to Him demands a response. The Bible Meets Life How s your walk with God? There are many among us who have blatantly walked away from God. Others among us have gradually gotten off course in our walk with Him. All of us need to evaluate ourselves and consider where we stand in our walk with God. God desires for us to return to Him, and He calls us back to Himself. The Book of Jonah shows us God s call and His merciful response when we return to Him. The Passage Jonah 1:1-3; 3:1-5,10 The Setting Jonah, a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, willingly had been used by God to deliver a message of encouragement to his nation (2 Kings 14:25). However, when God wished to use him to deliver a warning message to Nineveh, capital of Israel s oppressor Assyria, Jonah at first refused then only reluctantly complied with God s instruction. 10 minutes GUIDE: Direct attention to the contents page (PSG, p. 3.) Note that today the group begins a six-session study from selected Old and New Testament passages that will encourage us to wake up to our need for a serious renewal of following Jesus. Review the titles. (ENHANCEMENT: Note the session titles on Pack Item 6: Awake. ) GUIDE: Direct the group to look at the picture (see p. 90; PSG, p. 88). DISCUSS: Question #1 (PSG, p. 88): What s a great way to catch your attention? GUIDE: Direct attention to The Bible Meets Life (PSG, p. 89). It can be easy to allow life to lull us to sleep in our walk with Jesus. But what does it take to wake us up and get us back on the right road with God? GUIDE: Introduce The Point (PSG, p. 89): God s call to return to Him demands a response. Note that God got Jonah s attention, and he wants to get ours too. SUGGESTED USE WEEK OF JULY 19 91

5 THE POINT God s call to return to Him demands a response. STUDY THE BIBLE Jonah 1: minutes READ: Invite a volunteer to read Jonah 1:1-3. GUIDE: Call attention to Nineveh s location using the map on PSG page 91. Note that Jonah lived near the Sea of Galilee about 500 miles from Nineveh. Offer some background about Nineveh, a major city in the Assyrian Empire. Stress the information in the PSG about the brutality of the Assyrians and the comparison to the brutality of the ISIS terrorists in present day Syria and Iraq. Help the group identify with Jonah s reluctance to take God s message to such an evil people. Jonah 1:1-3 1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because their wickedness has confronted Me. 3 However, Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, from the Lord s presence. KEY WORDS: Nineveh (v. 2) Located on the east bank of the Tigris River across from the modern day city of Mosul, Iraq, Nineveh served as the capital of Assyria during its height. Tarshish (v. 3) While the exact location of ancient Tarshish is uncertain, the most probable location is Spain. It was in the opposite direction from where God wanted Jonah to go. God calls us to join Him in what He is doing. Verse 1. Jonah son of Amittai was a prophet God used to speak to Israel s Northern Kingdom during the first half of the eighth century B.C. Unlike other prophets of that time (Hos. 9:7; Amos 7:12-13), Jonah may have been well-received in Israel. For one thing, he (unlike Amos) was a citizen of the Northern Kingdom. More than that, however, his one recorded prophecy aimed at the Northern Kingdom (unlike both Hosea s and Amos s dire warnings) was a prediction that his nation s king would reclaim lost territory (2 Kings 14:25-28). The word of the Lord Jonah received and that is recorded in this book differed dramatically from the prophecy mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25. We don t know which revelation and experience preceded the other or if they occurred at about the same period of time. Neither can we say for sure exactly how the Lord communicated His word to Jonah. A literal 92 SeSSion 7

6 translation of the opening sentence reads simply The word of Yahweh was to Jonah son of Amittai. Verse 2. The Lord commanded the prophet Jonah, Get up! Go to Nineveh and preach against it. These were in fact marching orders, not suggestions or requests. In the Old Testament, prophets were regarded as servants of the Lord (2 Kings 9:7; Jer. 7:25). Servants were to obey their master immediately and fully. So it isn t surprising that the Lord s instructions to Jonah consisted of imperative verbs. It might seem surprising, though, that the Lord commanded Jonah to deliver a message to non-israelites living over 500 miles east of Israel. Throughout the Old Testament period, the Lord revealed to prophets His word concerning certain non- Israelite peoples (Isa. 13:1; Jer. 27:3; Nah. 1:1). With the possible exception of Moses before Egypt s pharaoh (Ex. 5:1), however, Jonah was the only Old Testament prophet the Lord sent on a face-to-face mission to give a message to Gentiles. The fact the Lord chose to communicate His word to a particular people group a pagan people group to be precise through a human being is of great significance for us. When the Lord wanted to give a certain people a message, He chose to call someone from a different people group to go and tell them. According to the Great Commission, the Lord still uses that approach today by sending Christians to the nations with the gospel message (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). 1 Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. The Assyrian army had invaded Israel several times and forced the Israelites to pay a heavy tribute. Nineveh was located in what is now northern Iraq, not far from the city of Mosul. The people of Nineveh were fierce warriors. They also had an interest in literature and culture. So much about their way of life has been uncovered by archaeologists that we know more about them than any other ancient Middle-Eastern people except Israel. In addition to Jonah, the prophets Nahum and Zephaniah prophesied Nineveh s eventual downfall, which occurred in 612 B.C. at the hands of Nabopolasser, king of Babylon. Nineveh could be extremely cruel to her enemies. A palace relief discovered in the archaeological ruins of Nineveh shows a banquet scene that also displays the severed head of an Elamite leader hanging in a tree. The Assyrian empire was already a threat during Jonah s lifetime and continued to grow in strength and violence. (See 2 Kings ) GUIDE: Use the Bible commentary 1 if you want to include additional information about Assyria. GUIDE: Note the KEY WORD Tarshish (v. 3; p. 92;) on PSG page 90. Stress that Tarshish was probably the farthest distance from Nineveh Jonah could imagine. SAY: God had spoken to Jonah and called Jonah to join Him in what He wanted to do in Nineveh, but Jonah wanted no part of it. He fled in the opposite direction. 93

7 THE POINT God s call to return to Him demands a response. DISCUSS: Question #2 (PSG, p. 92): Why is it sometimes tempting to flee from God? (Alternate: What are some ways God speaks to people today?) TRANSITION: Explain that at times when God gives us a clear call, we respond by running in the opposite direction to a place we think will bring fulfillment; yet it only brings destruction. Running from God always leads to pain. Yet God continues to call us back to Himself. The Lord provided two descriptors of the city of Nineveh that are important to the narrative. First, He noted that Nineveh was a great city. The Hebrew term translated great had both literal and figurative meanings. Taken literally, it referred to the city s large size and, by implication, its vast population. Figuratively, the term could refer to the city s great standing in the world its importance. The second key feature about Nineveh was that its wickedness had confronted God and was about to be judged by Him. The Lord, the righteous Judge of all the earth (see Gen. 18:25), would not allow the Ninevites sinful ways to continue without response. He was preparing to bring judgment against the city, but consistent with His patient nature, the Lord would first warn the people through His prophet (see Amos 3:7; 2 Pet. 3:9). Verse 3. Jonah got up. But instead of setting out for Nineveh, he went in the opposite direction. He made his way to the port city of Joppa on Israel s Mediterranean coast. Jonah s goal was clear. He aimed to flee to Tarshish a place he hoped to escape God s presence. The name Tarshish appears 28 times in the Old Testament. Many of these references also include a mention of ships. The prophets Isaiah (see Isa. 23:1) and Jonah by implication related Tarshish to the Mediterranean Sea and getting there as requiring a long journey by ship. The most popular suggestions regarding the location of ancient Tarshish include Tartessus on the Iberian Peninsula of Spain, Tharros on the island of Sardinia, and Tarsus, located near the Mediterranean Sea coast in what is now Turkey. The possibility also exists that more than one location in the ancient world bore the name Tarshish. The implication in Jonah was that it lay in the opposite direction the Lord wanted the prophet to go. The narrative casts a shadow over Jonah s disobedience by noting repeatedly that Jonah went down. He went down to Joppa; then he went down into the ship. Indeed, the prophet descended into the lowest part of the vessel (1:5), and soon enough would go down into the depths, into the heart of the seas (2:3) and would feel as though he had sunk to a prison beneath the foundations of the mountains (v. 6). 94 SeSSion 7

8 Many of the Old Testament prophets displayed courageous obedience to the Lord. At this point in his life, however, Jonah was not among them. He rebelled against the commission to take the Lord s message to another people group. The Lord still calls His people to join Him in what He is doing by reaching out beyond their comfort zones and to share the gospel of Jesus with people of other cultures. Jonah 3:1-5 1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach the message that I tell you. 3 So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord s command. Now Nineveh was an extremely large city, a three-day walk. 4 Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed, In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished! 5 The men of Nineveh believed in God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least. STUDY THE BIBLE Jonah 3:1-5 5 minutes READ: Invite a volunteer to read Jonah 3:1-5. SUMMARIZE: The remainder of chapter 1 describes the massive storm God sent against the ship. Jonah knew the storm was God s judgment, so he told the sailors to throw him overboard where God had appointed a huge fish to swallow Jonah, in which Jonah spent three days and three nights. This passage begins after Jonah had repented and God caused the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land. KEY WORD: Sackcloth (v. 5) A scratchy, black wool cloth usually made of goat hair. People in ancient cultures wore garments made of sackcloth as an expression of deep personal distress. God continues to call us back to Himself. After three days and nights, the fish vomited Jonah onto dry land (2:10). Jonah had left dry land to undertake the hazardous trip to Tarshish. God had hurled a storm. Jonah was thrown overboard. God provided a great fish. The fish swallowed Jonah. Jonah prayed. Now after all of that, Jonah was back where he started. Don t you imagine Jonah was thinking, I believe that God is trying to tell me something? Even before 95

9 THE POINT God s call to return to Him demands a response. SAY: God specializes in giving His people second chances to obey His call and join Him in His work. DISCUSS: Question #3 (PSG, p. 94): When have you benefited from a second chance? (Alternate: What are the different ways people responded to God in these verses?) God spoke to Jonah, he probably expected God to deal with him further and indeed He did. Verses 1-2. Few statements in Scripture express the grace of God as clearly as in Jonah 3:1, the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. Sometimes God s people disobey Him, suffer the consequences, and then think they have been rendered useless to God. They assume God has a one strike and you re out rule. Believers who reject God s clear call sometimes are given another opportunity. Second chances are an expression of God s grace. However, we should respond positively to God s call when it first comes and not presume that we will get a second chance. Jonah 3:1-2 is very similar to 1:1-2. Except for omitting the name of Jonah s father, the only change between 1:1 and 3:1 are the words then and a second time. Jonah 3:2 is similar to 1:2. In both verses, Jonah was called to go to the great city of Nineveh; in both he was to preach God s message. The mission hadn t changed. The need was as great and as urgent as before. The prophet was to get up, go to Nineveh, and preach the message the Lord would reveal to him. This time Jonah did what God commanded him to do. He got up and went to Nineveh without hesitation or debate. Verse 3. This verse purposely stands in sharp contrast to 1:3. Where before Jonah went in the opposite direction of the God-given mission, this time he got up and obeyed the Lord. He acted according to the Lord s command and went to Nineveh. Keeping this command involved no small amount of effort, as the prophet would have to travel hundreds of miles likely on foot over roads that sometimes proved to be dangerous, according to later reports (see Ezra 8:21). Nineveh was an extremely large city. According to ancient writers, Nineveh was the world s largest city at that time. The phrase a three-day walk underscores this ancient city s vastness. Modern archaeological investigations estimate the population within the walled portion of the city probably maxed out at 175,000 residents (see 4:11). Verse 4. Once Jonah arrived, he obediently set about fulfilling the task God had set before him. On the first day of his walk in the city the prophet proclaimed what is perhaps 96 SeSSion 7

10 the shortest recorded sermon in the Bible only five words in the Hebrew language. Yet it was all the Ninevites needed to know: in 40 days Nineveh would be demolished! Jonah s courage is amazing. He went from the belly of a fish into the figurative mouth of a lion and did not flinch. For all he knew, the arrogant Ninevites could have heard him and decided to kill him. But he was determined to obey the Lord. Verse 5. In response to Jonah s faithful proclamation of God s message, the men of Nineveh believed in God. God s word did more than change the people s hearts; it changed their behavior as well. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least. Fasting for religious purposes involved voluntarily refusing to eat food and (sometimes) refusing to drink liquids for a time. Those who fasted demonstrated that they desired God s help more than even basic physical sustenance. 2 Sackcloth, mentioned more than 40 times in the Bible, was a scratchy, black wool cloth usually made of goat hair (Rev. 6:12). It was sturdy enough to make large grain bags from it, but in the Bible it s most often mentioned in connection with clothing. Cultures across the biblical world Israelite (Jer. 4:8), Phoenician (Luke 10:13), Assyrian (Jonah 3:5), Persian (Esth. 4:2), Moabite (Isa. 15:3), and Ammonite (Jer. 49:3) all wore garments made of sackcloth as a symbolic expression of deep personal distress. To demonstrate repentance or sorrow, sackcloth garments were worn next to the body, causing the irritating fibers to rub against the skin (2 Kings 6:30). The resulting discomfort was intended to represent the magnitude of the crisis. It was also a plea for pity and relief from the distressing circumstances. When the Ninevites wore sackcloth, they were expressing sorrow for their sin and appealing to God for mercy. The Ninevite revival reached all the way to the royal palace. Verse 6 says not only did the people show their grief, the king himself sat in ashes. The whole nation felt the effect because the king issued a proclamation calling for repentance (Jonah 3:7-9). He hoped this would influence the Lord to turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish (v. 9). OPTION (if time allows): IN ADVANCE, obtain some burlap to represent sackcloth. Pass the material around the group. Note the rough texture. Ask the group to imagine wearing a garment made from such material. Use the Bible commentary 2 to help the group understand the connection between repentance and wearing sackcloth. TRANSITION: Explain that God used Jonah s message and obedience to convince the people that He was a righteous God, rightfully and fully capable of destroying them because of their evil ways. They also were able to discover the other part of God s character: His love and grace. 97

11 THE POINT God s call to return to Him demands a response. STUDY THE BIBLE Jonah 3:10 15 minutes READ: Invite a volunteer to read verse 10. GUIDE: Explain the story that weaves through the Book of Jonah is a story of what happens when a person responds in obedience to what God is calling him to do. Call attention to the numbered statements on PSG page 96: 1. When we fail to obey God, strong consequences can result from that sin. 2. When we obey, God responds with blessing. Jonah himself had experienced the mercy of God when he repented. DISCUSS: Question #4 (PSG, p. 96): What do God s actions toward Jonah and the Ninevites teach us about His character? Jonah 3:10 10 Then God saw their actions that they had turned from their evil ways so God relented from the disaster He had threatened to do to them. And He did not do it. God calls us to repent and responds to us with grace and mercy. Verse 10. God was watching; He saw how the people responded to His message. He knew their belief in Him was being demonstrated in actions that they had turned from their evil ways. The people had genuinely repented. So what did God do in response? He mercifully relented from the disaster He had threatened to do to them. The Hebrew word nacham, translated relented is difficult to render accurately. It can mean repented, had compassion, or changed His mind. The thought of God changing His mind causes difficulty for some Christians. How can God decree a particular outcome, and then move in a direction different from His earlier pronouncement? Two things should be kept in mind. First, God s ways are infinitely beyond our ability to comprehend (Isa. 55:9; Rom. 11:33-34). Sometimes Scripture illustrates divine action using language of the actions of finite human beings, but the reality of what God does and how He does it is far greater than human language can express or the human mind can grasp. Second, God changes His mind out of His compassion for people and in response to genuine repentance (Ex. 32:12). It can be in His plan both to punish sin and to relent when people repent. This passage speaks of the incredible mercy of God s heart toward sinners. Once the Ninevites had been wicked, spiritually blind to the destruction coming their way. Then Jonah preached God s message to them. They repented. They believed, and the God of grace and mercy forgave them, sparing their city from destruction. 98 Session 7

12 This event has the seed of the gospel planted in its very heart. The God who spared the Ninevites also one day sent His Son Jesus into the world with an urgent message: Repent and believe in the good news! (Mark 1:15). The good news was that by His atoning death and resurrection, sinners then or today can repent, believe, and receive forgiveness and eternal life. GUIDE: Emphasize that if God is burdening our hearts to do something, we can be sure He is preparing something to happen on the other side of our obedience. State that God s purposes are higher and better than anything we can imagine. Corel Photo Assyrian low relief sculpture from the 7th century B.C. The following excerpt is from Sackcloth and Fasting in Jonah (Fall 2002), which can be purchased at biblicalillustrator. The use of sackcloth and fasting is not attested frequently outside the Bible. The Old Testament does indicate that several of Israel s neighbors did practice the same kind of ritual. Besides the reference to Nineveh in Jonah, wearing sackcloth for mourning and penitence was practiced in Syria (1 Kings 20:31), Moab (Isa. 15:3), Ammon (Jer. 49:3), and Tyre (Ezek. 27:31). In addition, Darius spent the night fasting while Daniel was shut up in the lion s den (Dan. 6:18). A previous article The Book of Jonah in its Historical Setting (Sum. 2009) relates to this session and can be found on the DVD in the Leader Pack or purchased along with other previous articles, God s Message for Nineveh (Win ), Jonah: His Life and Times (Fall 1999), and Ancient Nineveh (Win. 1996), at www. lifeway.com/biblicalillustrator. Look for Bundles: Bible Studies for Life. Subscribe to Biblical Illustrator at or call DISCUSS: Question #5 (PSG, p. 97): Our nation needs to return to God. What must happen in our personal lives for that to occur? (Alternate: How can our group be a safe and supportive place for returning to God?) DO: Invite volunteers to share their responses to Return to Him (PSG, p. 97). SHARING THE GOOD NEWS God calls us back to Himself, but the only way we can be restored to a right relationship with Him is by placing our trust in Christ. Make yourself available to speak with anyone in your group who wants to know more about becoming a Christian. 99

13 THE POINT LIVE IT OUT 5 minutes God s call to return to Him demands a response. LIVE IT OUT We may need to return to God several times in our lives. How has God spoken to you in this session? Which application is He drawing you toward? DO: Emphasize The Point: God s call to return to Him demands a response. GUIDE: Review Live It Out (PSG, p. 98; see text to the right). State we may need to return to God more than once in our lives. But we will always find His arms open wide to receive His repentant children. Wrap It Up GUIDE: Hold up a cell phone, if you have one. Note that an emergency call from a loved one is a call we don t ignore. When God calls us to return to Him, it is vital that we answer. > > Repent. Repentance isn t a one-time task. Whenever we sin, we need to repent, forsaking the sin and turning back to the Lord. Try this. Whenever the Lord convicts you of a sin this week, stop, immediately confess it, turn from it, and return to the Lord. Don t wait until sometime later. Repent immediately. > > Obey. Maybe the Holy Spirit has been nudging you for some time about something you need to take on or give up in order to grow in your relationship with Christ. If so, spend some extended time in prayer this week. Confess your reluctance to obey God s call. Commit to do as He directs, trusting in His strength to do it. > > Lead. Someone close to you may need to return to the Lord. Lift his or her name up before God every day this week. Make yourself available to the Lord to be His instrument to help this person respond positively to God s call. Be sensitive in the coming days to opportunities God may present to you. PRAY: Lord, thank you for calling us to return to you when we stray. Strengthen us by the power of your Spirit to respond in ways that always please you. Amen. 100 SeSSion 7

14 My Thoughts My Group's Prayer Requests Additional suggestions for specific groups (women, men, boomers, and singles) are available at BibleStudiesForLife.com/blog. And for free online training on how to lead a group visit MinistryGrid.com/web/BibleStudiesForLife. The Need to Let Things Go I wonder what our lives would look like if we could shoot a video that would show the crammed closets and piled up rooms of our souls. How does an unforgiven act of a friend look after it s been hoarded for years? How dark does a secret sin grow after being pushed deeper and deeper into the recesses of our souls? How sharp are the shards of the broken dreams we ve left lying around? To continue reading The Need to Let Things Go from Mature Living magazine, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/articles, and enter the article title in the search bar. Or use your smartphone to access the article directly by scanning the QR code. 101