OUR MISSION: To guide those far from God into the new start found in Jesus Christ.

Jonah 4:1-11

Revision Chapter 1 - Jonah is called by God to go to Nineveh Chapter 2 - Jonah sinks to the very bottom of the sea where the roots of the mountains find their origin Chapter 3 - Jonah preaches an unspectacular five word sermon

Part Four - Jonah 4:1-11The God of this City Jonah 4:1-2 “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Jonah 3:10 “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.”

Observation 1 Why is Jonah so angry? Dictionary Definition: “That self righteousness is being convinced of one’s own righteousness, uprightness, correctness, rightness in contrast to the actions and beliefs of others.” We have to identify with Jonah in his self righteousness The God of this CityPart Four - Jonah 4:1-11

The “Am I self-righteous ?” Test 1. Do you consider yourself better than others? 2. Do you down play your sin while magnifying the sin of others? 3. Can you laugh at yourself? 4. Can you freely talk about your real faults? 5. Do you have all the right answers? 6. Do you actually listen to others? 7. Have you ever said; “at least I am not like that” ? 8. Do you say; “I’m a good person”? 9. Are you open to learning from anyone and everyone? 10. Do you look down on those who struggle with sins that you don’t struggle with? 11. Can you receive critique and or correction humbly without growing angry or defensive? 12. Do you think you deserve mercy from God while others do not? 13. Over the course of these questions… did you think; “I can believe people are like that” ? The God of this CityPart Four - Jonah 4:1-11

The God of this CityPart Four - Jonah 4:1-11 Romans 3:10 "There is no one righteous, not even one.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The essence of self righteousness is that there is always another party involved

The God of this CityPart Four - Jonah 4:1-11 We have to feel the weight of what Jonah is feeling Jonah’s problem is not theological When we forget what we have been saved from this is the inevitable outcome - Self righteousness is always the result Observation 2 Who is your Nineveh?

The God of this CityPart Four - Jonah 4:1-11 Observation 3 Pride and Self-righteousness Jonah 4:3 “Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

The God of this CityPart Four - Jonah 4:1-11 Observation 3 Pride and Self-righteousness Jonah 4:3 “Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah 4:4 “But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?" Jonah’s idea of happiness was that his enemies were going to hell Observation 4 What thing in our life, if taken away would make us feel unworthy?

The God of this CityPart Four - Jonah 4:1-11 First option – Just don’t do it “We know of no other way by which to keep the love of the world out of our heart, than to keep in our hearts the love of God - and no other way by which to keep our hearts in the love of God, than building ourselves up on our most holy faith.” Thomas Chalmers “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection” Observation 5 There are two ways to deal with idols Second option – Is to love something of greater value with greater intensity

The God of this CityPart Four - Jonah 4:1-11 Jonah 4:5-8 “Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. 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 vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live." How does God see Nineveh? Observation 6 How do we love people as God does?

The God of this CityPart Four - Jonah 4:1-11 Jonah 4:5-9 “But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?" "I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die." But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" Matthew 9:35-38 “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Observation 7 What are the shady plants in your life?

The God of this CityPart Four - Jonah 4:1-11 Observation 8 Are we those labours? That’s what God called Jonah to be and that’s what Jesus was calling His disciples to be Many times we see the big picture without “us” as the labourers Being on mission with God, right here in our own Nineveh

Jonah 4:1-11

OUR MISSION: To guide those far from God into the new start found in Jesus Christ.