Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus. The founder and perfecter of our faith.
Some of God's servants have to go to the school of hard knocks before they learn to obey God from the heart. Jonah finally went to Nineveh with a hard heart. He had no real concern for the people of a great pagan city. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line.
Pastor Lutzer, eventually we each have to see the big picture. Jonah's big picture was a big city in desperate need of God. You know, Dave, when you mention that, what comes to my mind is the story of Jesus who looked upon the multitude and was moved with compassion. One of the problems we have as Christians is it is difficult for us to see. to see beyond ourselves, to see need, and beyond that need to see God.
My friend, today, no matter where you are listening, I want to ask you a question. What comes to mind if I mention the word holiness? Many people have a very negative view. They think that it refers to some saints in the past. They have no idea.
That as believers all of us should be pursuing holiness, but how do we do that and what are the barriers that we have to overcome?
Well, following this message, I'm going to be giving you some information for a resource that we think will be of tremendous help to you. It's helped hundreds of thousands of people understand what holiness is. and what it is not.
So you stay tuned.
Now let us listen. Yeah. Um What they were saying is, we want to show our desperation in God's presence and we even rid ourselves of creature comforts so that we can call on God and God knows how serious we really are. In fact, it says in verse 6 the word reached the king of Nineveh. We don't know whether or not this was like the mayor or whether or not it was the whole king of the Assyrian Empire.
And he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, sat in ashes. Could you imagine Mayor Daly going back to Grant Park? Sitting in ashes. And then giving the city of Chicago a proclamation.
Now, I've been to many of these prayer breakfasts and so forth where there is a proclamation from the President, from the Governor, and from the Mayor. And if I may be a little bit facetious, it reads something like this: whereas prayer is not a bad idea. And whereas there's some religion in our previous history, And whereas we're into tolerance, And whereas we're a relatively free country, we exhort anybody who wants to say a prayer today, something like that. Notice this proclamation. Wow.
Verse 7, 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, but let man and 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. Who knows, God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.
Now there's a proclamation. You know, when God sends revival, everybody's on the same level: the mayor, the king. Those who are in positions of authority, the president, they all bow in the presence of God. They all acknowledge their sinfulness. And here we have this universal revival taking place in Nineveh.
And we read it and we say, could this really have happened? I mean, even they put sackcloth on the animals. The animals were supposed to have repented. I remember a dog in our neighborhood who should have repented. And we had a cat or two that I tried to get to repent.
Wasn't very successful. You know the difference between dog theology. and cap theology. A dog says, you feed me. Therefore, you must be God.
A cat says, You feed me, therefore I am God. Isn't that true? You see, these people realized that their sin was affecting even the animal kingdom. And the animals, I'm sure, didn't know what was going on because they never understood Jonah. They never understood the message.
But they said, we are so desperate that we are even putting sackcloth on animals and we're forcing them to fast.
so that we might turn to God. You know, it's interesting that this is not recorded in any of the various annals of Assyrian history. And so some people have said, could this have happened? Maybe it was a temporary repentance. Maybe their repentance ended when.
Their fear ended. We don't know. We don't know the depth of their repentance, though, as we'll see in a moment, Jesus Christ did acknowledge this as a great moment in history. But the people repented, and because they repented, we read in verse 10: when God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he said he would do to them, and he did not do it, which was exactly what Jonah thought might happen. How is God trying to get him to say yes by dragging him to a place where he didn't want to be?
And maybe you're there today. Maybe your vocation, maybe your situation is exactly the place where you do not want to be. And then, secondly, God says, I'm going to have you see something that you don't want to see. You do not want to see this city repent because you're so full of resentfulness when God blesses those whom you think he should not bless. And then God says, I'm going to get you to say yes, or at least work on you.
by the way in which you feel. And that's really next time's message, but you'll notice in chapter 4, verse 1, it says, But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. Do you know what the Hebrew text says? The Hebrew text says, And it was evil to Jonah with a very great. Evil.
That's the literal translation. He was very, I mean, he was steamed. And he says, that's just what I thought. A terrible thing happened. I preached and everybody repented.
What an awful thing. And because they repented, you're not going to bring them the judgment that they so richly deserve. They deserve nothing but judgment, and here you display nothing but grace. What kind of a God is this? He says, That's what I know.
He goes on to say that you're compassionate and you're loving, and that's what I feared. You know, it's interesting in the text, we find that the Ninevites certainly repented. God repented. You know when it says in verse 19, when the Lord saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way. By the way, when it says that they turned from their violence, when the king says that, the Hebrew word is hamas.
You'll probably recognize that as a terrorist group today. Will they turn from their terrorism? And it says in verse 10, when God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented. The word actually is he repented.
Now, that doesn't mean that God repents the way in which we repent. What it means is that Jonah's message was a conditional message. When he said, Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown, he should have added, unless you repent. And so God says, Okay, you are repenting. I will not bring the calamity that I promised you, because it was a conditional message.
But isn't it interesting that the Ninevites repent, and God even has a form of quote repentance, but the one man who will not repent, who will not bring himself to the end of self-interest and self-advantage and self-protection, is Jonah. And he remains stubborn. There are some lessons I think that this passage of Scripture teaches us. First of all, our attitude should follow our obedience. It was good that Jonah went.
It was much better that he go to Nineveh than that he stay home. We can be assured of that. It was good that Jonah went. But his heart wasn't there. You know, he said, like the little boy.
Who was told to sit in a corner? He said, I'm sitting down, but in my heart I'm standing up. In other words, if this is what I have to do, this is what I'll do it. But I will grin and I will bear it and I will consider it my duty, because after all, God can do such things as create fish and put me in difficult circumstances, so here I am. But his heart was out of sync with God.
My wife and I have, on a number of occasions, been in Weimar, the seat of the great German Enlightenment, and there is a statue of Goethe. You have to know how to say that word. of Goethe in Weimar. And in that statue, Goethe is looking at the university, but his feet. are taking him to the tavern.
Part of Goethe's problem was he could never quite decide where his loyalties were. In that case, his feet were going to his real loyalty, namely the tavern. But in the very same way, it's possible for us to serve God, and we say, Yes, I'm serving God out of obedience. If this is what God wants, If this is what he has for me, I will do it. But your heart is out of sync with God because you have not been willing to embrace God's will as something good and perfect and acceptable, and you chafe against it and you fight against it, and God says, I want you to say yes.
Let's consider right this morning here. There are many of you who are listening to this message who are in the right place. God wanted you in this sanctuary today. But I need to ask: is your heart right with God? It's possible, you see.
for you to be in the right place geographically. and your heart be out of sync. with the Almighty. Jesus spoke of the Pharisees. He says that they honor me with their lips.
They're saying the right thing, they come to the right temple. They even bring the right gifts. But their hearts are somewhere else. Their affections lie elsewhere. And what God is trying to say to us today is: don't you understand that I want your heart and your vocation and my calling to line up?
Why all this self-protection, this self- Serving. Rebellion.
So that's the first lesson. The second lesson is that God is bigger than our expectations. He's bigger than our expectations. Who would have ever expected? that Nineveh would repent.
Who would have ever believed that there is this city that would turn to God just because they heard a message of judgment? No one would have ever predicted that Nineveh was going to have this awesome revival, would they? And uh Jonah. was full of deep resentment. because of it.
Let me ask you this question. Are you resentful because God is generous? Are you resentful because God sometimes blesses your enemies? And God keeps blessing them and giving them health and giving them money and God just seems to be lavishing upon them and here you are, you're trying to serve God and look at what other people have and why does God have all of this disparity in terms of the way in which he runs his world and down deep inside you are resentful because God is merciful and compassionate and patient with people that you and I know he ought to just wipe out, right? Let me ask you something.
Did Jonah need more grace? Then the people of Nineveh, at the end of the day, no, because not a one of us deserve what God gives us. The reason that we compare ourselves with others and think, well, you know, we are worthy of grace. Did you know that that's an oxymoron? Nobody is worthy of grace.
If you're worthy of it, it can't be grace. It is the unworthy who come before God. It is those who have absolutely no claim whatever on their Maker. Those who bring nothing to the table except their great need, coming in humility and brokenness to receive. It is they who receive mercy.
It's not the people who deserve anything that receive it. And so, what you see here in the text is that God is bigger than our expectations. There are people that perhaps you know whom you've given up on. You no longer pray for them, you no longer believe that God can do anything in their lives, but you don't know. I think of what the king says: Who knows?
God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger so that we may not perish. Who knows what God may do? with those who are wicked. Who knows what God may do with those of us who think we're not wicked? and who deserves something.
Who knows what God may do? He is bigger. than our own expectations. There's a final lesson. Yeah.
And that is that we are responsible for our own repentance. We're responsible for our own repentance. Jesus had a divine commentary on this event. He said this in Matthew chapter 12, verse 41: The men of Nineveh will rise up with a judgment with this generation. and condemn it.
For they repented at the preaching of Jonah. and behold something greater than Jonah. Is here. If we were to read the passage, we discover that Jesus uses the word greater three times. He certainly is greater than Jonah.
His message is much greater than that of Jonah. The people of Nineveh heard only a message of judgment. And if you want to know something of what that judgment eventually became, you should read the book of Nahum because that shows that eventually God did judge Nineveh over 100 years later because they went back to their violent ways. And so Jesus Christ's message is greater than that of Jonah. Jesus preached a message of love and compassion.
He said, I came not to condemn the world, but that the world through me might be saved. It's a message of love. It's a message of grace. It's a message of wonderful inclusion to those who humble themselves to come and to receive it. The city of Nineveh.
will rise up. and condemn the city of Chicago someday. The city of Chicago has had the opportunity to believe on Jesus. You can buy Bibles, no matter what translation they are. You can buy Bibles in any one of the bookstores in the city of Chicago.
You can turn on radio and you can hear messages. You can turn on television and sometimes even there hear the gospel if you're listening to the right person. And you can seek God. We have churches that are open, and in Nineveh, they didn't have any of that. The city of Nineveh responded to only one preacher.
The city of Chicago has heard dozens of preachers and has dozens of churches, and they, with greater opportunity, have not repented. I think that Jesus would say that the people of Nineveh shall rise up and condemn this city because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, a greater time with greater opportunities and greater grace is here. But now I'm speaking to you. Who knows how many people there are here today who have never personally received Jesus Christ as Savior?
You've never responded to the Jesus who is much greater than Jonah. You've never opened your life to Him and said, Lord Jesus, I want you to be my Savior, and I trust you as my righteousness, and I'm trusting you for my forgiveness. I mean, personally, not just generally, but personally, to know Him on that kind of a level and to respond to Him. You know what the Bible says? How shall we escape if we neglect so great?
Salvation. Because we live in a day when God's arms are open to everybody and you have not fallen so far but that God can receive you. The Ninevites were received by God after all. Despite their violence and their wickedness and their huge sins, they were received. How much more under this era of grace in Jesus can we all be received?
Perhaps the men of Nineveh shall rise up and condemn you someday. Because they repented in the day of judgment. But possibly you haven't.
So I have to ask you as I conclude, has God brought you to the point where you're willing to say yes. I say that to those of you who do not know Christ as Savior, but as well as to those of you who do. What is there that holds you from finally giving up? The fight. and the manipulation.
And the criticism of God. to finally say, okay, God. It's over. Let's pray. Our Father, we want to thank you for this story.
A story that reveals the human heart, a story that is such a beautiful contrast between your compassion. and one man's petty anger. At your will and purpose. Teach us from it, O God, we pray today. And may your grace be evident in the lives of all who would repent, in all who would submit.
And in all who would be broken in your presence and say, yes. Lord. And now you talk to God. If He's talked to you, you talk to Him too. What is it that you need to say to him today?
Father, do not deal with us at this moment as a church. Deal with us as individuals. At this moment, we're not thinking of the city, we're thinking of ourselves. Grant, O God, that sense of submission and yieldedness to your matchless, undeserved Christ. grace.
In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Uh Um Uh My friend, this is Pastor Lutzer and sometimes it is very difficult for us to say yes. We've all had the experience where we back off even if we know God's will, but God desires obedience.
Now I want to ask you a question. It's a question that I actually began this program with. What comes to mind when I mention the word holiness? Perhaps it's some bearded saint of the past. he is considered to be a holy man.
What if I were to tell you that it is God's will that all of us be holy? But of course that raises certain barriers, doesn't it? We think to ourselves, what would it possibly take to be a holy Christian? I'm holding in my hands a book entitled The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. Jerry Bridges was with the navigators.
and he is one of my most favorite writers. When I read the book I found it to be transforming. Very quickly, I'm going to give you some info as to how this resource can be yours. Here's what you can do. Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-288.
218. 9337. Remember the title of the book, The Pursuit of Holiness. What you can do right now is go to rtwoffer.com. or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337.
Let us all understand holiness and pursue it. It's time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer. A question about the Bible or the Christian life. As you well know, Pastor Lutzer, there's a wide gulf between two viewpoints on how to interpret some key doctrines in the Bible. although there is some common ground, there is still no way to reconcile these schools of thought.
Beverly wonders which side you take when she writes What are your beliefs on Calvinism? And would you consider yourself a Calvinist?
Well, Beverly, as you know, you've asked a question that has far-reaching implications.
So let me give a general answer, and then I may even get a little bit more specific. First of all, I don't like the label of Calvinism. If you say that you're a Calvinist in the minds of many people that means that you agree with everything that Calvin wrote. I don't think that Calvin was perfect. I think he taught some things that are wrong.
For example, he taught infant baptism, and we here at the Moody Church are convinced that the New Testament teaches believers' baptism. That's one difference. Also, Calvin lived at a time when heretics were put to death. and the city council in Switzerland. in Geneva decided that they would uh burn Servetus at the stake.
and even though Calvin spent a great deal of time with Servetus trying to convince him to believe in the full deity of Jesus Christ, in the end, I think, Calvin did agree that this should be done. One day I was in Geneva where this happened, and there was a sign that said that Calvin was the son of his times. and that saying it very, very well. When it comes to the issue of God's sovereignty in salvation, I do believe that Calvin was right. that God does choose and elect people to eternal life.
Once they are saved, God keeps them all the way to heaven. When Jesus Christ gave the illustration of the good shepherd, I'm sure that no good shepherd begins with a hundred sheep in the morning and comes back with ninety five in the evening. And so, from the standpoint of God's sovereignty, yes.
Now that leads to other questions that are beyond the scope of this broadcast, but I hope that you rejoice in the fact. That you are saved today. Because God worked in your heart and brought you to saving faith. It's a miracle, it's a sovereign miracle. accept that, believe it, and invite others also.
to trust Christ as Saviour. God bless you. Keep thinking about these great matters. And I know you will. Thank you, Beverly, and thank you, Pastor Lutzer.
If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer. Or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. Um Um You can write to us at RunningTowin 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Running to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life.
Jonah finally obeyed God, but he took no joy in the revival following his preaching in Nineveh. His self-focus kept him from seeing the big picture. Instead, he sat down, asking God that he might die. Pity party indeed. On our next running to win, Pastor Lutzer continues his series, On Brokenness, How God Gets Us to Say Yes.
We'll turn to Jonah chapter 4 for a message on death to self-justification. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
