Object Lesson from Jonah

Jonah 4:6-11
v.10 “ but the LORD said: you are concerned about a vine that you did not plant or take care of,
a vine that grew up in one night and died the next.”
v.11 “in that city of Nineveh there are more than 120,000 people who cannot tell right from
wrong, and many cattle are also there, don’t you think I should be concerned about that big city?

“Being focus on the little things we for got to see the big picture”

What is your Nineveh?

These could be that certain thing that we enjoy and that we cannot live with out having its
comfort in our life.

What is your Nineveh?

If you are reading this article through the “World Wide Web” then this is your Nineveh.
How many people “Log-in” to this “E-World” and have the taste of their “E-life?” We could not
tell, as young as an elementary student and as old as your Grandpa or Grandma, people are
having the taste of their “E-life.”
As we read this article we are the Jonah of this Nineveh.

Putting our focus (Anything that gives comfort in our own vine to our lives )

We tend to forget (What is your Nineveh?) our own Nineveh

As you read the whole book of Jonah composing of its 4 Chapters with a total of 48 verses you
will be encouraged to give focus to your Nineveh.
LESSONS WE CAN LEARN
FROM THE PROPHET JONAH

Text: Matthew 12:38-41

"Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we
would see a sign
from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the
prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly;
so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The men of Ninevah shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall
condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a
greater than Jonas is here."
-Jesus

Introduction-
We can all learn a lot from the life and experiences of the O.T. prophet, Jonah, if we
will only open up our hearts and minds.

I.First, WE CAN LEARN THAT GOD IS A HOLY GOD, WHO HATES SIN.

Jonah 1:2b-"...cry out against it(Ninevah, capital of Assyria), for their wickedness is
come up before me."

God cannot be indifferent to sin and still be a holy and righteous God. He must
punish evil, and evil-doers.

God knows about all of the evil that men do. He is Omnipresent, and Omnicient(all
knowing). No one can do wrong without His knowledge. When we sin, we sin against
a God who sees us and knows
all about us. He sees deep within our hearts, and knows who and what we really
are.

Ninevah was the capital of Assyria, Israel’s bitter enemy. Should they be spared,
they might be a threat to Jonah’s nation, and he knew it, so he was being patriotic
when he didn’t want to go to Ninevah. But, he was not being godly, or pleasing to
God. God wanted them warned of their impending and certain doom if they did not
repent. He is willing that none should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.
II.Secondly, WE CAN LEARN THAT WE CAN RUN, BUT CAN’T HIDE FROM THE
PRESENCE OF GOD.

Jonah 1:3-"But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord..."

God found him, and caught up with this rebellious prophet. No matter where we go,
or where we try
to hide, God will find us.

Jonah was found to be the cause of the storm at sea, so he was cast overboard, and
swallowed by
a great fish. When we sin, it affects others. It may be our family, or friends, or even
people that we do not know personally.

III.Thirdly, WE CAN LEARN HOW TO PRAY AND HOW TO OBEY.

You can bet your life that Jonah prayed more earnestly and sincerely than he ever
had before in his life. He prayed and submitted his life to God’s will. He was now
willing to go to Ninevah and say whatever God wanted him to say.

IV.Fourthly, WE CAN LEARN THAT GOD SOMETIMES GIVES US A SECOND CHANCE TO

DO HIS WILL.

Jonah 3:1-"And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,.."

The mission hadn’t changed, but Jonah had, at least to some degree.

V.Fifthly, WE CAN LEARN THAT THE WORD OF GOD IS QUICK AND POWERFUL, AND
CAN CHANGE ANY LIFE.

a message of condemnation, preached by an unsympathetic prophet could change

a wicked people
like the people of Ninevah, it can change anyone.

Jonah 3:5-"So the people of Ninevah believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put
on sackcloth, from
the greatest of them even to the least of them."

Talk about a far-reaching, life-changing revival! It touched everyone in that city,

even the king.
It humbled them, and brought them to repentance. And, God relented. He decided
to spare them for
about 200 more years before Ninevah met its doom.
VI.Sixthly, WE CAN LEARN THAT GOD’S LOVE IS MUCH GREATER THAN OUR LOVE.

There was no tear in Jonah’s eye as he told the people of Ninevah of their certain
destruction. But, there was still rebellion in his heart at at how loving and forgiving
His God was.

Jonah 4:4-"Then saith the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?"

Why was Jonah so upset at God’s goodness? Because, what he really wanted was to
see them
destroyed, forever, and never become a threat to his own nation. God taught him a
lesson through the goard that we all need to learn.

God will do what is right, and best, and in accordance with his holiness,
righteouness, and love.

Invitation-God loves you, too, no matter who you are, or what you have done. He
wants to forgive
you, and He will, if you will only hear His word, and repent.