Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Jonah This preaching prophet. who preached to such great effect in Nineveh.
now becomes the petulant, pouting prophet. Let's look at some of Jonah's bad attitudes and perhaps ours. and discover how we should respond. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. If we were writing the book of Jonah, we might have chosen to end it after Jonah finally obeys God.
But the Bible is not a book of fairy tales. It's about real people and the true God. And even those who serve God can have ungodly attitudes and fall short. Let's join Pastor John Monroe as he begins his final message in our study of Jonah, titled A Man with an Attitude. Over the last few broadcasts, we've been considering the fascinating story of Jonah.
After running away from the Lord, Jonah is compelled to stop running. He's swallowed by a big fish. But the point of the story is not a big fish. It's about God's power. and purposes.
Have you found that God has His own ways to get your attention? After the Lord graciously gives Jonah a second chance, Jonah finally preaches to the inhabitants of Nineveh. They listen to the message of the Lord and repent. Yet, Instead of rejoicing, Jonah has a very bad attitude. After all that Jonah has experienced, does that surprise you?
God is so gracious to Jonah, and yet he is so quick to complain. Let's learn from Jonah chapter 4. The story is a fascinating one. Jonah is called by God to preach. A message of judgment against Nineveh, the great Assyrian enemy of the Jewish nation.
But Jonah, a man of God, a prophet, doesn't like the assignment He turns his back on God, runs from God. And jumps on a ship. going in the opposite direction from Nineveh. God wants him to go to Nineveh, but he jumps on a ship. sailing in the Mediterranean, heading for Tarshus.
But although Jonah had his back turned on God, the Lord was still watching over Jonah. And God, and you know the story, God sends a storm, and Jonah is thrown overboard into the raging sea. And at the point of drowning, as he's going deep, deep, deep down in the Mediterranean Ocean with seaweed round his head, thinking that life for him is over, at the last moment God delivers him with a very unorthodox deliverer, a great fish. Jonah finds himself in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights, and then he is thrown up. on dry land.
But God is not yet finished with Jonah. And Jonah hears, as we heard last week, Jonah hears the word of the Lord a second time. He's given the same task. Arise. Go to Nineveh, the great city.
And this time, a changed man, Jonah obeys and preaches the message of the Lord to the Ninevites. Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown. And a miracle occurs. Revival breaks out. This wicked city, these violent Ninevites, these terrorists.
These haters of Israel Believe in the true God. and God's judgment. Does not fall. On Eneva.
Now if I were writing this story, I would have ended it at the end of chapter three on this note of triumph, on this note of success. But the Bible is a real book. It's not a Bible which contains fairy tales. It contains a portrayal of real people in their joys and successes and in their failures and sorrows. People like us.
And God is not yet, through teaching, has run away prophetic. Profit some important lessons. And I suspect. That God is not yet through with teaching us a few lessons from this last chapter of Jonah. This is my last.
message on this little series on Jonah. As we come to Jonah chapter 4, and if you have your Bible, I invite you to turn there. As we come to Jonah chapter 4, we meet a man with an attitude. You say God's prophets? God's messenger, a preacher with an attitude, yes.
Those who serve God, those who preach, can have ungodly attitudes. And Jonah is a man of deep emotions, but also. ungodly emotions. Are you here this morning? with a bad attitude.
Something really has ticked you off. You're angry about something, you feel that life is unfair, you feel that God has treated you badly, you're out of sorts, you're ticked off about your family, your life, your work, your relationships, your church, other people, other believers. Let's look at some of Jonah's bad attitudes, and perhaps ours, and discover how we should respond. Let's read Jonah chapter 4 then. But for the sake of connection, let's look at verse 10 of chapter 3.
Jonah 3 then. Verse ten. When God saw their deeds, That they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. But it greatly displeased Jonah. And he became angry.
And he prayed to the Lord and said, Please, Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore, in order to forestall this, I fled to Tarshis. For I knew That you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me. For death is better to me than life.
And the Lord said. Do you have good reason to be angry? Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what happened in the city.
So the Lord God appointed a plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah, was extremely happy about the plant. But God appointed a worm. When dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered And it came about when the sun came up that God appointed a scorching east wind. And the sun beat down on Jonah's head, so that he became faint.
And he begged with all of his soul to die, saying, Death is better to me than life. Then God said to Jonah, Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant? And he said, I have good reason to be angry, even to death. Then the Lord said, You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who do not know the difference between their right and their left hand, as well as many animals?
A strange ending to a rather strange Book. Here we learn in Jonah chapter 4 that Jonah has several bad attitudes. Here's the first one. Jonah is angry with God. Verse 1, it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.
Jonah wants Nineveh to experience God's judgment and God's vengeance. rather than God's grace and compassion. I Nineveh is wicked, it's violent, Lord. It's the enemy. of Israel.
They want to exterminate us. They need to be judged rather than receiving your grace and your forgiveness. and your compassion. He was waiting for fire and brimstone to fall on Nineveh. Hell isn't hot enough for them.
And when the judgment of God doesn't fall on Nineveh, He's angry. This preaching prophet who preached to such great effect in Nineveh.
now becomes the petulant, pouting prophet. Jonah He's a good theologian. He knows his Bible. Notice the wonderful description of the character and the attributes of God that Jonah rightly says from the middle of verse two to the end. He knows his theology.
But Good, sound theology doesn't necessarily produce good attitudes in those who believe the theology. Of course we should have good theology. Of course we should be interested in the character and the attributes of God. But knowing that intellectually doesn't necessarily have an impact on the way that we live. And Jonah, while he knows the character of God, Is angry when God acts consistently with his character as he always does.
You angry with God? This morning? Things haven't worked out in your life. The way you want it, the way you think things should work out in the life of your family and your ministry. Not promoted at work?
a business problem, a health concern. a failed marriage, not m married, difficult relationships, not appreciated in your ministry and you're out of sorts. As I say, God has not acted in your life in the way that you think God should act and you're ticked off. I've met many angry Christians over the years. I've met many Christians who carry And continue to carry, in some cases for many years, a lot of bitterness.
Jonah. Has a bad attitude. He's angry with God. Secondly, Jonah is small-minded and narrow-minded. There are still While I was still in my own country, Jonah is very much concerned with Jonah.
He loves Jonah. In chapter two, He's very thankful when he receives the salvation and mercy of the Lord. But now he's resentful. Resentful that others received the same compassion, the same forgiveness which he himself received. And so as we come into chapter four, this man, Jonah, This great prophet, in many regards, this wonderful preacher, this man who had preached blessing, as we saw in 2 Kings, as the borders are extended.
This man who could preach to such great effect in the city of Nineveh. The mouth of the Lord. But now he is paralysed. paralyzed by his own Petty provinciality. His self-righteous heart.
Instead of being compassionate towards those whom the Lord is compassionate, His heart. It's selfish. It's hardened. Against the enemies. of Israel.
He, Jonah, is entitled to the Lord's blessing, he thinks. The Ninevites, they should be judged by God. How could you, God, grant mercy to such people? And we see here in verse 5 that he went out from the city and sat east of it. as if just to wait perhaps.
The judgment of God which fall On Nineveh. As it fell on Sodom and Gomorrah. He wants to get as far away as he can from the Ninevites. He wants as least contact with them as he can, although he has been the instrument, the human vessel, to bring salvation to the people. You ever l ever like that?
Ever guilty of provincial small-mindedness, hard-heartedness, selfish thinking? Of course. Of course. Let's admit it. We're often like Jonah, aren't we like this?
This is my church. This is my family. This is my circle of friends. This is my life. This is my country.
This is my ministry. And there's no room for others to receive God's salvation and forgiveness. narrow minded, petty, Prejudiced. Small minded. You think you have a corner on the grace of God?
Does it really bother you when God blesses and uses other people who are very different from you? How could God use this individual? They messed up in the past. How could God use them? Yeah.
as you clothe yourself in self-righteousness. Would you really be glad? If that brother or sister who acted in a way that This pleased you? Would you really be happy if that person was judged? Do you really want to exclude anyone from God's grace?
What about those of a different race, a different colour of skin, a different background? What about the terrorists? What about these? British citizens who have planted such evil against Americans and against Britons. What about has Hezbollah?
What about Hamas? What about terrorists? What about those who hate the message of Christ? What about those who hate Americans? Who hate Britons?
Who hate our way of life? You want God to judge them, to knock them out, to get rid of them? The book of Jonah is a reminder to us that God.
So loves the world. that God loved the Ninevites, yes, the ancient enemy of Israel. And as so many of the nations hate Israel today, let us remind ourselves that God's love in this day of grace. this day of opportunity goes to the whole world and that no one is excluded from the grace of God and the love of God. That God's grace is so great that it goes to all of the world, including those who hate His wonderful Son.
and who hate the followers of Christ. Do you have love in your heart? For all of the nations, for all people. Or do you like Jonah? Small minded.
narrow-minded feeling you and Yours have a corner on the grace of God. First bad attitude, anger. Second, bad attitude, small mindedness. Third, bad attitude, discouragement. Jonah is discouraged.
In Jonah chapter four, this prophet This mouthpiece of the Lord has turned into a bit of a whiner. A bit of a complainer. He is discouraged. What's discourage meant? We are discouraged when we're not satisfied with what God brings into our lives.
Isn't that true? You get discouraged. Because you think God should have acted in your life a different way from which He has acted. And discouragement comes into our life. Eleven people were hanging on a rope under a helicopter, ten men and one woman.
The rope clearly wasn't strong enough to carry them all, and so as they conversed, as they were hanging on to this rope, it was agreed that one of them would have to fall. because otherwise they all would fall. They were These ten men and the elev and ten men and one woman, they were unable to decide which one should let go until the woman gave a very touching speech. She said that she would voluntarily let go of the rope. After all, she was a woman.
She was used to giving up everything for others, for her husband, for her children, and for men in general. She said, I'm used to making large sacrifices with little in return. And she made such a moving passionate speech that the ten men were very impressed and they started clapping. I guess if you're a man clapping, hanging on the rope, life is very discouraging. Life has a way, an unexpected way, hasn't it, of bringing discouragement into our lives.
At least I find that in my life. Life seems to be going well, and then some discouragement comes in. The ancient legend is told of the devil giving lessons to the demons. Here are the tools, says the devil to the demons that you can use: malice, hatred, lying, immorality, drunkenness, and so on. But one of the little demons sees a wedge-shaped well used tool with a very high price.
Why is it so worn? he asked the devil. Why such a high price? The devil says this tool works so well. With most Christians, particularly with pastors, particularly with missionaries.
What is it? Discouragement. discouragement. And Jonah is a missionary. And Jonah is an evangelist.
and discouragement. has come into his life. He's discouraged. There's a fourth bad attitude. It is self-pity.
Of course, these are all interrelated. End of verse three, O Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life. Come on, Joanna. Come on. self-pity.
End of verse 8, again, he's begging with all of his soul to die, saying, Death is better to me than life. Poor Jonah. Revival has broken out in in Nineveh. But Jonah is not focused on the Ninevites. How can I teach them more about God?
He's not even focused on Israel. What's Jonah focused on? The same as you, when you have self-pity, Jonah is focused on Jonah. Self-pity. Self-absorbed.
It's all about me. Yes, he may wonder what kind of reception he's going to get back in Israel. But he should have been celebrating the wideness and the wonder of God's grace and compassion, but now he's overcome with self pity. He's reaching out, as it were, for his box of Kleenex. Believing that life isn't worth living.
And in verse 8, when the sun beats down on his head, I tend to think he was bald, like most good preachers. I mean, he's got this hot sun beating down on his head. He doesn't have his baseball cap on, presumably. He completely overreacts. Death is better to me than life.
self Pity, anger, discouragement, small mindedness, Self-pity. What's the answer to all of these bad attitudes? Is there a solution? You say you just shrug them off, snap out of them, discuss them with your therapist. What are we to do?
No, a godly perspective. dispels bad attitudes. I want you to get that. All of us. have bad attitudes at times.
Some of you have them right at this moment. Want to tell you that a godly perspective dispels bad attitudes. Three of them. First of all, and very important the perspective of God's sovereign purposes. An understanding that God is sovereign will dispel bad attitudes.
You say, What do we mean by God's sovereignty? When we speak of God's sovereignty, we mean that God is the absolute ruler over everything, He is the supreme power over the whole universe. God is sovereign. He is in control. He's always in control.
Not Hezbollah, not Israel, not the United Nations, not the superpower of the United States of America, not the European Union. God is in control of the whole world. You say, it doesn't seem like that all of the time. I know that. But let me uh tell you.
that God If there is a God and there is, He is sovereign and He is always, always in control. He is sovereign, not Jonah, and certainly not you or me. Do you notice in verse seventeen of chapter one What do we read? And the Lord appointed a great fish. Yeah.
Who appointed the great fish? Who provided the great fish? The Lord. At chapter four, verse six, the Lord appointed the same word, a plant. Verse seven, God appointed a worm.
Verse eight, God appointed a scorching east wind then I V says provided. His control. He's in control. He's sovereign. He's always in control.
And the Bible says that God is working all things after the counsel of His will. God is in the heavens and He does what He pleases. By that we mean that God is sovereign.
Furthermore, God is always working. For good in your life. He's in. Control. The whole of creation is subject to him.
There are no coincidences.
Someone said to me when I told them I was going to Switzerland, they said, Good luck. I don't want luck. There's no such thing as luck. God is in control. There are no coincidences.
God is always in control. From the book of Jonah, we learn that He controls the weather, He controls the storms, He controls the fish, the animals, even the plant, even a little worm. He rules over the fall of a sparrow, says Jesus. Do you not understand? There is not one sparrow that falls to the ground apart from your Father's will.
How wonderful. And you And Jonah. And myself, we are of much more value to God than many, many sparrows. He rules over the fall of a sparrow, and he rules over the fall of an empire. And God is so great that in a moment He can bring the greatest superpower.
and the world to its needs. This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God.
To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org. While you're there, consider making an investment in this Bible teaching ministry. Whether it's $5, $50, or more, your gift today helps cover the cost of sharing these gospel messages to listeners around the world.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Can you relate to Jonah and his bad attitude? What would people who know you the best say? Do you get ticked off with God when things don't go your way? When things don't go the way you expect?
Are you self-pitying, complaining? It's so easy to have a bad attitude. Today, focus on how gracious God has been to you. how he has worked in seemingly impossible situations in your life. Join us next time as we conclude our study of Jonah and learn how these bad attitudes can be dispelled.
Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
