2. Past Weeks Jonah is called by God to preach to the Niinevites
Jonah refuses to go (disobeys God)
Jonah runs from God
God causes situations that bring Jonah to repentance
Jonah gets swallowed by a big fish
Jonah prays for deliverence
God brings us to places that are uncomfortable in order to get our attention

3. Jonah 3:1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
6 When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.

4. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:
“By the decree of the king and his nobles:
Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”
10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. NIV

5. 1. The second call is nearly the same as first call- but different
1:1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah (son of Amittai:) 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it,
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah (a second time): 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it”
Preach against it- al
Preach to it- el
Are you an “against-er?” or a “for-er?”

6. 2. Good preaching (witnessing) always proclaims the words God gives
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
The right words come from God
Through imperfect people
Can be either “am giving you” or “will give you”

7. 3. Jonah obeyed Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.
Obedience results in action
Literally
“Jonah got up”
“Jonah went”
Obedience is a two step process
Get up
Strettttchhhh! Clean up something first, etc.
GO!
Decisive
Movement from old place to new place

8. 4. Positioning yourself to be heard
4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming...
Jonah preached from among the people
Jonah did not try to stand on the outside of the city preaching into it
Many Christians seem fearful of being among the people of our culture.
We stand on the edges
We preach from the sidelines against everything
Communicating the message of God means we look into the eyes of people!
The single most exciting thing I can do is to engage someone in a conversation about Jesus.
It is the thing that makes my Christian life both fresh and exciting.
It is the thing that stretches me; forces me to apply the gospel to new and different ways of thinking
It is actually FUN!
Sprinkle a testimony; like seeds on the ground; and see if they grow.

9. 5. The message is short and simple
“Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
8 words in English
5 words in Hebrew
It's not about the oratory
“overthrown” same word as Sodom and G, can also mean “turned”
Was not overturned; but was turned.

10. In your life... where are you called?
God wants verbal witnesses
Living a life that witnesses is important
“I'm just going to live my life and let people see”
Telling the message is critical
God wants you to talk
Rom 10:8 “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. NIV

11. In your life... where are you called?
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The word is IN you. You HAVE the power.
This is the most unpopular thing I ever say to Christians, and it is met with the most pushback.
For 250 years we have had the freedom to speak, and most haven't
Now it is less acceptable and we must speak.

12. In your life... where are you called?
Rom 10:14 …”how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
2 Peter 3: 8 With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. NIV

13. In your life... where are you called?
The book of Jonah is about anyone whom God calls upon to proclaim his message... and won't.
“But we are not all called to be evanglelists”
True: We are not all are gifted at it
All are to do the work of an evangelist

14. In your life... where are you called?
2 Tim 4:3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. NIV

15. So What?
When it comes to talking to others about God, what are you afraid of?
Tell God
Be honest
Success?
Failure?
Are you running away from telling others?
Do you find yourself saying, “I will follow you anywhere...
...except to tell others when you prompt me.
Who told you?
Obedience means doing what we don't want to do, when God wants us to do it.