Jonah: Prideful Disobedience Sermon 1 PART 2

by Bill Klapwyk
(Hamilton, Montana, USA)

Secular Society Sometimes Has Better Moral Integrity than We Do.

When we allow our emotions to drive our decisions and conversations, we can sound and act immoral. We are hypocritical and lack any integrity.

Jonah was allowing emotions to drive his decision to go the opposite direction. He hated the Assyrians and why should God send him to such a horrible gentile city when Israel is God’s chosen nation.

Prideful disobedience causes Jonah to run away from God’s call and causes a divide in his relationship with God. He has disdain for the Ninevites and acts as if they are less than the Israelites. I mean they are wicked and evil in God’s eyes right?

Isn’t that how we feel too? Any person associated with any one of those hot button topics are wicked and evil in God’s eyes right? Why should we go witness to them? Why should we care about them?

Jonah’s lack of care, love, and God’s view of Nineveh is completely contrasted by the Phoenician sailors who try everything, but throwing Jonah overboard. They tried rowing to shore. Maybe they could get him to shore and drop him off so they didn’t have to throw him overboard.

When all their attempts failed look at what they said. Jonah 1:13-15

Read Jonah 1:13–15

“Let us not perish for this man’s life,” and “lay not upon us innocent blood.” They were displaying better moral integrity than Jonah. Now we know their motives weren’t God’s motives, but their desire to protect human life, even of one who wasn’t part of their nation, was stronger than Jonah’s desire to protect human eternal life.

How often do we see that in our society today? Christians come across as uncaring, unloving, hypocritical, accusing, and holier than thou. We associate the people with the sin they live in just like Jonah associated the Ninevites with the sin they lived in.

They fight against us and we feel oppressed. Jonah knew the oppression Israel felt and they still fought against the Assyrians.

We have secular groups that treat certain people much better than we do. We know it’s not God’s motive for them, but we can’t win them to Christ by running in the opposite direction. We can’t win them to Christ by being accusing and unloving.

We have to remember everything going on around us is driven by a deep desire in human hearts. Humans were created to be in relationship with God. They were created to find their identity in who God is. We were made in His image and that’s the first clue about where we find our identity.

Satan is using that desire and giving society alternatives to what they’re truly seeking. It sounds like a strange sci-fi movie doesn’t it? Something out of the Twilight Zone.

God is calling us to be witness to all of society, just like He called Israel to be witness to all nations. Just like He called Jonah to go cry against Nineveh. We’re called to witness to all of our society. Those who seem the most wicked or evil could be the ones seeking.

Instead of chastising them or treating them with disgust. We should be showing them the same love and care God has for them. That’s the only way we will ever be able to show them a true moral integrity built on love.

The world right now is showing them a better moral integrity than Christians, but it’s a shallow moral integrity built on an agenda. It’s a well designed and well executed facade. It is tough to break through the facade, but when it’s faced with true moral integrity built on love, it will crumble.

But we must first be like Jonah and admit we’re running from God’s call. We must admit why we are acting the way we’re acting.

I’m going to end today with verse 17 and I’m starting next week with verse 17. Jonah 1:17

Read Jonah 1:17

Jonah was delivered by God finish the task God gave him and witness to Nineveh. We have all been delivered today by Jesus Christ and our mission is to love everyone enough to tell them about Jesus Christ.

Closing:
God loves all of His creation. He desires that every person would come to Him. We have to put our fleshly emotions aside and follow Jesus’ plan.

When we’re called to something it’s not some optional thing. We can’t say God will find someone else to do that instead of me. We have to step up, get up, and go to whatever God is calling us to.

And when we’re called we must have the highest moral integrity. A moral integrity built on God’s love for His creation. Show people the true thing they desire above everything else. To be identified by who they are in Jesus.

God is calling us to set our emotions aside and follow His plan. God loves everyone and desires them with Him in eternity. We should exhibit His love for them and allow our relationships with them to point them to Jesus. To what their hearts are truly seeking.

Our society is crying out in the storm and we’re sleeping in our church pews. We keep ourselves enclosed in our church groups and ignore the calls from outside. Are we coming to our churches in the guise of worshipping the Lord, while the whole time we’re actually fleeing His presence.

We have a choice. We can either continue to be the church that is fleeing from God’s presence and dying. Or we can be the church that embraces God’s call and go witness to the evil wickedness. Go show them that their true desires are to find their identity in Jesus.