Runaway Mercy: Jonah 3 God s Mercy Revealed. Mitchel Lee

Transcription

1 Runaway Mercy: Jonah 3 God s Mercy Revealed Mitchel Lee

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3 1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you." 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Jonah 3:1-3a

4 Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" Jonah 3:3b-4

5 Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" Jonah 3:3b-4

6 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. 6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and

7 beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish." Jonah 3:5-9

8 O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth, and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. Jeremiah 6:26

9 beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish." Jonah 3:5-9

10 12 "Yet even now," declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. 14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God? Joel 2:12-14

11 Shallow Repentance:

12 1. SELFISH Shallow Repentance:

13 1. SELFISH Shallow Repentance: 2. SELF-RIGHTEOUS

14 Shallow Repentance: 1. SELFISH 2. SELF-RIGHTEOUS: Resolve

15 Shallow Repentance: 1. SELFISH 2. SELF-RIGHTEOUS: Resolve Remorse

16 In religion our only hope is to live a life good enough to require God to bless us. Every instance of sin and repentance is therefore traumatic, unnatural, and horribly threatening. Only under great duress do religious individuals admit they have sinned, because their only hope is their moral goodness." Tim Keller

17 I m sorry you feel that way

18 I m sorry you feel that way I know I made a mistake, but you

19 I m sorry you feel that way I know I made a mistake, but you I ve owned up now you need to forgive me.

20 I m sorry you feel that way I know I made a mistake, but you I ve owned up now you need to forgive me. I want to get this resolved, so you can get off my back.

21 I m sorry you feel that way I know I made a mistake, but you I ve owned up now you need to forgive me. I want to get this resolved, so you can get off my back. I can t believe I would do something like that.

22 I m sorry you feel that way I know I made a mistake, but you I ve owned up now you need to forgive me. I want to get this resolved, so you can get off my back. I can t believe I would do something like that. I know what I did was wrong, but aren t you overreacting?

23 I m sorry you feel that way I know I made a mistake, but you I ve owned up now you need to forgive me. I want to get this resolved, so you can get off my back. I can t believe I would do something like that. I know what I did was wrong, but aren t you overreacting? I ll make it up to you.

24 Genuine Repentance = recognizing + turning

25 Genuine Repentance = recognizing my sin and the hurt I caused

26 Genuine Repentance = recognizing my sin and the hurt I caused + turning to God for mercy and others for forgiveness

27 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. Jonah 3:10

28 True repentance goes far deeper than apologizing for bad behavior. It s an acknowledgment that, deep down, we are much worse than our behavior. It s also more than just admitting that we re wrong - it s confessing that we truly want to be better than we know we are. It s asking God to turn us around because we know we can t do it on our own. Repentance isn t just an action - it s a way of life...it is a turning from our self-sufficiency and self-preoccupation which in turn, allows us to become more dependent on Jesus alone. Neil Williams