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Jonah 1:1-3 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me." 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

JONAH A.Jonah told by God to go preach to Nineveh B.Went by boat to Tarshish instead C.Storm came up, Jonah thrown overboard D.Swallowed by great fish, then spit out on land E.Jonah told again to preach to Nineveh F.Jonah tells God he didn’t want to preach to Nineveh because he knew God would forgive them if they repented G.They repented and God forgave them H.Jonah was angry & went outside the city to see what would happen I.God caused a gourd to grow up and give him shade J.A worm caused the plant to die & Jonah was angry K.God asked Jonah if it was right for him to be angry about the plant, Jonah said yes L.God said, should I not pity the 120,000 souls in Nineveh

I. OUR LACK OF FAITH IN GOD AND HIS PLAN - Jonah 1:1-3 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me." 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

OUR LACK OF FAITH IN GOD AND HIS PLAN A.DO WE RUN FROM GOD AT TIMES RATHER THAN FOLLOW HIS PLANS? B.Mat 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. C.Rom 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. D.Mat 6:19-20 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

II. OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO SHARE GOD'S BLESSINGS - JONAH WAS SAVED BUT WAS UNWILLING TO SHARE SALVATION WITH NINEVEH

II. OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO SHARE GOD'S BLESSINGS A.Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. B.2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

II. OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO SHARE GOD'S BLESSINGS C.Ezekiel 3:17-19 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: 18 When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. D.SONG 468: THERE IS A SEA - DEAD SEA AND SEA OF GALILEE

III. OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO ENCOURAGE REPENTANCE OF OTHERS - Jonah 4:2 So he prayed to the LORD, and said, "Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.

III. OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO ENCOURAGE REPENTANCE OF OTHERS A.WE BECOME SOIL ANALYZERS RATHER THAN SEED SOWERS 1.ANANIAS & PAUL - Acts 9:13-14 Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 "And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”

III. OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO ENCOURAGE REPENTANCE OF OTHERS A.WE BECOME SOIL ANALYZERS 2.PARABLE OF THE SOILS - Luke 8:11-15 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 'Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 "But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 "Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 "But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

III. OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO ENCOURAGE REPENTANCE OF OTHERS B.GOD WANTS EVERYONE TO REPENT - 2 Pet 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

IV. OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT THE REPENTANCE OF OTHERS - Jonah 4:2-3 So he prayed to the LORD, and said, "Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. 3 "Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”

IV. OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT THE REPENTANCE OF OTHERS A.ARE WE UNWILLING TO ACCEPT THE REPENTANCE OF OTHERS EVEN WHEN GOD HAS FORGIVEN THEM? B.WE BECOME JUDGES AND WE ARE QUALIFIED FOR THAT JOB - Rom 14:4 Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

V. OUR OWN COMFORT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN OUR CONCERN FOR OTHERS - Jonah 4:5-11 So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. 6 And the LORD God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. 7 But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. 8 And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah's head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, "It is better for me to die than to live." 9 Then God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?" And he said, "It is right for me to be angry, even to death!" 10 But the LORD said, "You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. 11 "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left; and much livestock?”

V. OUR OWN COMFORT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN CONCERN FOR OTHERS A.Phil 2:4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. B.2 Cor 11:23-28 Are they ministers of Christ?; I speak as a fool; 1 am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness; 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.

VI.OUR COMPLAINING - Jonah 4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.

VI.OUR COMPLAINING A.1 Cor 10:1-12 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; >>>

VI.OUR COMPLAINING 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. B.Philippians 2:14-15 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

DO YOU HAVE SOME JONAH IN YOU? A.Lack of faith in God, B.Unwillingness to share the gospel, C.Unwillingness to encourage repentance in others, D.Unwillingness to accept repentance in others, E.More concerned with comfort than salvation of the lost, F.Complaining about how God chooses to do things?

TONIGHT’S SERMON GOD’S WORD