God for that. Tonight we're going to be in the book of Jonah, so take your Bibles to the book of Jonah. And we're going to do something a little bit different tonight. We're actually going to, I'm going to be preaching an overview sermon of the book of Jonah, so we're going to be looking at the entire book. But don't worry, it's only four chapters, so not too intimidating, I hope. And I do have four kids under the age of six, so I'm definitely not going to be here for a couple hours, I promise you that. We're going to fly through Jonah and we're going to basically just look at some things. And as I mentioned this morning when we looked at the Lord's Prayer, anytime you're familiar with the book, there's a temptation to not focus on certain things, right? There's the temptation to think, oh, yeah, I know about Jonah. I know that story, you know, him and the belly of the great fish. Yeah, I know Jonah. But what I want us to really try to do tonight is to not to assume too much about this book. I believe that there's so much in this book, it is just, it's jam-packed with so much theology, so many great truths, and so I'm just gonna attempt to mine some of these truths, so to speak, so hopefully the Lord will give us some encouragement and some, hopefully, something that we can apply to our life to allow us to grow closer to our great God. So, the Book of Jonah. Jonah, one of the most popular books in the Bible. In my opinion, it's also one of the most misunderstood books in the Bible. Just to prove what I mean, what comes to mind when you think of the Book of Jonah? Feel free to say whatever comes to your mind. Disobedience, what else? Big fish. Okinawa, right? That's what I mean. Like, we know the highlights. We know some of the details, right? But there's still so much to be discovered. You guys mentioned some of these. Disobedient prophet, tried to run away from God. He was swallowed by a big fish. But what else? What is the book of Jonah really about? That's what we're gonna try to answer tonight. In order to properly understand the book of Jonah, we first have to understand who it was written to and for what purpose. Because if we're not careful, we might be tempted to think that Jonah is just about learning the lesson that you can't run away from God because he's always going to find you. Now, of course, there's certainly some truth to that, right? But if that is all we take away from this book, I think we're doing ourselves a great disservice. We need to remember that the book of Jonah was actually written for Israel, the people of God. And everything that is in this book was ultimately put there by God to teach Israel a lesson, to teach them something about God. So this is important because our temptation is to make the Bible characters, it's to make them all about us, right? And of course, human instruments, they have their place in the Bible. But let's not forget that the Bible is first and foremost a book about who? It's a book about God. It's about Him and Him alone. So in order to really understand this book, we need to ask this question. What did God allow, why did God allow Jonah to go through everything that he went through? What was the purpose? Let's find out. In chapter one, I'm just going to be briefly summarizing these chapters. As I mentioned, this is an overview. I wish we had time to truly dig deep in this book, but we don't. In chapter one, God sent a violent storm when Jonah was running away from God. and he was ultimately thrown overboard into the sea by the sailors. Remember that part? In chapter two, Jonah views himself being swallowed up by this great fish. Jonah actually viewed this act as a merciful act of God. He even records this famous saying in chapter two, verse nine. If you remember, Jonah said that salvation is of the Lord. Then in chapter three, Jonah finally, he gives in, he reluctantly listens to God, and he preaches to the Ninevites, and against all odds, the most violent empire of the known world at that time, they turned from their evil ways, and God withheld his judgment from them, miraculously. Then in chapter four, Jonah, if you remember, Jonah gets angry with God for being compassionate toward the pagans. He told God that he wanted to die several times. Then God provided a shaded plant for Jonah to keep him cool in the hot desert, and it makes Jonah super happy for a little while. But what does God do? God takes the plant away from him, and Jonah gets angry once again, angry enough to die. And so what is the point of Jonah's story? What's the point? I would like to share an illustration to hopefully answer that question. Growing up in my household, I had two sisters and a brother, and my brother was the oldest of all of us, of us four. And oftentimes, I don't know if it's true in your guys' homes, but In our home, my brother often said that he got the short end of the stick because he was the oldest, right? Are there any oldest siblings in church tonight? Is that true? Do you think you guys got the short end of the stick, being the oldest? Some, right? Usually, what the oldest sibling say, they usually say something like, yeah, my parents, they treated me like the guinea pig, right? They made all the mistakes with me. And that's what my brother would say, because any time he was getting corrected for something, The younger siblings, we kind of had like a, we had a front row seat to him getting disciplined for whatever it was, right? And so I remember countless times, any time my brother was getting in trouble for something, I had a choice. I had a couple options in that moment. Like when I'm seeing him getting in trouble for something, the first choice that I had was essentially, learn from his mistake, right? I'm seeing what he's getting in trouble for and I can choose to either learn from his mistake or I can choose to ignore what I just witnessed and make the same mistake and get in trouble for the same exact thing. And because I was a foolish kid, oftentimes I chose choice number two. But the point of the story is that I should not have chosen The second option, right? I should have learned from my brother's experience, right? I'm seeing what he did wrong and I should have corrected, right? I should have learned from that experience. I share that story because a very similar thing is happening with the story of Jonah. Jonah is kind of like that older brother. In the people of Israel, God's people, they're kind of like the younger brother in this story. Jonah, his story is kind of being used, like Jonah is kind of on a stage for the entire people of Israel to examine, to look at, to learn something about Jonah's story. So my goal today is just to prove that Jonah is not a book about a great fish. Jonah is a book about God's great compassion. So let's get started, Jonah, chapter one, verses one through three. Jonah one through three. Before we get to that, I just want to make a couple remarks. God calls Jonah to preach to the Ninevites, and what's shocking about that is here is a Hebrew prophet. He was told to leave Israel and to go out into a Gentile city. Up until this point, prophets had only been sent to God's people. Jonah's mission was truly unique. It's even more shocking that the God of Israel would want to warn Nineveh. Now, who was Nineveh? Remember the capital of the Assyrian Empire? And it's shocking that God would want to warn this evil empire of this impending doom. Assyria, if you remember, one of the most cruelest and most violent empires of ancient times. Assyrian kings, after victories, they were known to burn entire cities to the ground. Assyrian history is one of the most gory and horrifying histories known to mankind. So back to Jonah. the original readers of this book, they would have viewed, they would have remembered Jonah kind of as someone who was extremely loyal to his country, right? They would have known him as a national, as a patriotic man. And they would have been amazed that God would send a man like that to preach to the very people that he most feared and hated. So why did Jonah disobey God? We find out in chapter four, and we're gonna talk about that, but so far it's clear Jonah was dissatisfied with his situation in life. And it wasn't that he was just dissatisfied with the situation in life, Jonah didn't wanna be a Christian anymore. Jonah concluded because he could not see any good reasons for God's command, he concluded there couldn't be any. Jonah doubted the goodness of God. And I think we can struggle with the same thing. Can we not? Right? I think we struggle when things don't work out the way that we want them to, when things don't work out the way that we thought they would. It's very easy for us to doubt the goodness, the greatness of our God. So, let's take a step further and let's ask this question. Church, are you dissatisfied with God? with your current situation in life, with your finances, with your spouse, with your family. If we answered yes to any of those questions, we have to decide, does God know what's best for us, or do we? We so quickly forget that God is committed to us in our sanctification. Our default mode is just to assume that our lives should be smooth and successful. But that is not what God has promised us, right? So as we consider Jonah's life, which includes his mistakes, let's try our best not to distance ourself from this prophet, right? It's so easy for us to look at his story and say, wow, what a disobedient guy, what a fool. That's our temptation. But the reason why we should not be so quick to judge him is because I'm gonna suggest that we are all more similar to Jonah than we care to admit. Verse 4 says that the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea. So up to this point, Jonah, he was already on the ship with a bunch of pagan sailors, which means Jonah found himself in a close encounter with people who were racially and religiously different than him. And it turns out, which is crazy, that the pagans, the sailors, they actually show more class than Jonah does. The irony in this is that Jonah had rejected God's call to preach to Nineveh. He did not want to talk to pagans about God or lead them toward faith. So what did he do? He fled. He ran away only to find himself talking to God to the exact sort of people he was trying to flee. Daniel Timmer, he once said that Jonah's anti-missionary activity has ironically resulted in the conversion of non-Israelites. That's amazing, right? Think about the lengths that Jonah went to not minister to pagans. And despite his disobedience, God still uses him in their conversion. Isn't that just like God? That is such a God thing. And that's another reminder that salvation ultimately belongs to who? Ultimately belongs to God. Verse 17, Jonah 1, 17. Now the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. So as soon as Jonah hit the water, the God whom he did not trust miraculously saves him. Up to this point, Jonah viewed God's mercy on the undeserving as ridiculous, as offensive, and yet it was their only hope to be rescued. It was his only hope to be rescued. So we find out that Jonah had a fatal flaw that could not be seen when things were going well in his life. So what did God have to do? God had to strip him of his self-sufficiency. God had to allow him to hit rock bottom. He had to strip him of his self-sufficiency and his self-righteousness. So church, it's the same with us. It is only when we hit rock bottom, it's only when we come to the end of ourselves, when we can begin to change. So little by little, Jonah begins to learn about the beauty and the wonder of God's great compassion. So now this brings us to Jonah chapter three. Go ahead and jump to chapter three. And I'm gonna read the entire chapter for us. Jonah chapter three. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, went unto Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey, and Jonah began to enter into a city a day's journey. And he cried and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, put on sackcloth, the greatest of them even to the least of them for word came unto the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne and he laid his robe from him and covered him with sackcloth and sat in ashes and he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles saying let neither man nor beast herd nor flock taste anything Let them not feed nor drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily unto God, yea, let them turn every one from his evil way and from the violent that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God repented of the evil. that he had said that he would do unto them, and he did it not. Church, this is truly amazing. Against all odds, what happened? God withheld his judgment from Nineveh. Nineveh agreed to turn from their evil ways, and God forgave them and withheld his justice from them. Again, no one saw this coming, This made no sense, and this would have been extremely offensive to Israel, especially Jonah. Now, why is this significant? In order to answer that question, we have to remember that the book of Jonah, it's different than the other minor prophets, right? All of the other minor prophets, they had a message that God gave them, right? God gave them a message and wanted them to preach that message to the people, but not so with Jonah. Jonah's story was the message that God wanted Israel to hear. And so what do you think he was trying to teach them? What is it about this story that God wanted Israel to know? He's trying to teach them how willing God is to forgive. God loves to forgive sinners, amen? God lives to extend mercy to those who do not deserve it. God is so quick to forgive us when we repent of our sins and ask for his forgiveness. Is this good news? Yes, of course this is good news. So think back to the prophets in the Old Testament, right? They were constantly urging God's people to repent, to turn back to God. But most of the time, the people, Israel, they wanted nothing to do with God. And so the story of Jonah, it's a stark reminder that Israel's destruction, like their impending doom, them being exiled, had nothing to do with God's ability. and had everything to do with their unwillingness to repent, their unwillingness to run into their Heavenly Father's loving arms. So now this brings us to Jonah chapter four. So we're gonna look at the first four verses here in a moment. Jonah chapter four. Jonah chapter four is really interesting because in my opinion, Jonah has one of the most surprising last chapters of any book in the Bible. Why is this? Well, it's because if you ask most people what happens at the end of Jonah, they would probably say something like Jonah's repentance, Nineveh's repentance, or Jonah was released from the big fish. You know, a lot of people forget that the book of Jonah actually continues after those events. One of the most interesting things about Jonah is this counterintuitive ending. Think about it. God just used Jonah to do the impossible. Right? Something that no one would have ever guessed. You would think that Jonah would have been a happy camper. Right? You would think that he should have just rode off into the sunset. But what happens instead? Look at verse one. Shocking. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly. And he was very angry. Can you believe that, church? Why in the world would Jonah be angry that God forgave sinners? Does that make sense to you? No, it makes no sense whatsoever. So what was Jonah's problem? Look at verse two. Jonah's gonna tell us what his problem was. For I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. So you read that and you say, okay, what's the problem? This sounds like this should be a hymn, right? This sounds like this should be a praise song. What's the problem here? Here's the problem. Jonah believed that God has gone too far with his mercy. Jonah said, God, you've just gone too far this time. Can you believe this? Jonah was upset that God did not punish Nineveh. Why in the world would he be upset? So instead of being happy for Nineveh, instead of staying a little while longer to explain the greatness of God in more detail, and instead of explaining what it means to be in covenant with God, Jonah immediately left and he was angry with God. The Bible says he was angry enough to die. So what does this mean for us today? How are we doing with our compassion for people who are deeply different than us? What about the people that you don't like? What about the people that you just don't click with? That you don't just jive with, right? People who just have a different personality than you. People you just don't get along with. Are you tempted, like me, to have a self-righteous attitude towards those people? Here's a test. When you see a homeless person on the side of the road begging for money, what is the first thought that comes into your mind? Is it compassion and love, or is it judgment and disdain? Next, verse four. Notice how God rebukes Jonah. and maybe we can learn something from this as well. Verse four, then said the Lord, doest thou well to be angry? So God is pointing out that Jonah loved something, he valued something more than him. Now, pay attention to how God speaks to Jonah in verses 10 and 11. Jump down in verse 10 and 11. Let's find out what Jonah loved and valued more than God. Then said the Lord, thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou hast not labored, neither made us it grow, which came up in the night and perished in the night, and should I not spare Nineveh, that great city? So what's the point here? God is teaching Jonah once more that they are not the same. Jonah weeps over a plant, but God weeps over a city. God has compassion for people. So this is the idea that God doesn't look at sinners in a condescending or a hateful way, although he has every right to do so. No, he has compassion for us, and his desire for us is to be reunited with him forever through his son, Jesus Christ. So we are so quick to assume the worst in people, are we not? Very rarely give someone the benefit of the doubt. We have the propensity to be hateful, to be judgmental, to be rude. But what about God? Is God like that? No, what does God think about sinners? Look at verse 11. This is the final verse of the entire book. Notice how this verse ends. This is astounding. And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle. In other words, does God not know best? Does God not have the right to extend mercy to sinners? For us, this should humble us, because the answer is obviously yes, but not because of us. but because of our God's great compassion. Now, you have to ask the question, why does this book end this way? Most commentators say that this is a very strange and bizarre ending, the way that this book ends. Why would God do it this way? Why? I believe the reason is because God wants Israel to see themselves in Jonah's story. Think about it. Think about Israel's future from this point on. They're getting ready to be sent into exile. They're getting ready to be thrown into the vast ocean of God's judgment. They're getting ready to sink to the bottom of the sea, and God wants them to learn that He is a God of grace and compassion. God wants His people to learn to trust Him, even when things look bleak. So Jonah's story to Israel, it would have been a glimmer of hope for the people of Israel, right? Because although Jonah was well on his way to the bottom of the ocean, what did God do? God intervened and miraculously saved Jonah from destruction. So Jonah went through a type of a resurrection. You say, what do you mean by that? So think about it. If those sailors, remember the sailors that threw Jonah overboard? If they would have seen him being spit out onto the dry land, what would they have said? They would have witnessed some type of resurrection. They would have been like, what in the world is happening? I saw that man well on his way to destruction, and then all of a sudden he's saved, he's resurrected in a sense. Why is that important? Well, it's because the book of Jonah, in a way, is pointing to something in the future. God was teaching His people, even in the Old Testament, His plans for a resurrection. So, we know this. mainly because if you fast forward 500 years into the future, there was Jesus, Jesus Christ, walking in front of the people of Israel, right? 2,000 years ago for us. What's crazy is that when Jesus was alive, a lot of people did not believe that he was the true Messiah, right? They had no idea, they did not believe him. But they should have believed him, right? Because they witnessed this man, Jesus, lavish his compassion towards sinners. And that should have been a hint, right? What should that have reminded them of? It should have reminded them of stories like in Jonah. God lavishing his grace and compassion towards those who did not deserve it. Jesus, think about his ministry here on earth. He was so loving, so compassionate. And what's strange is that it very quickly became scandalous, right? People were offended by the love, grace, compassion, Jesus Christ. People were offended that he was so gracious, so compassionate, just like Jonah was offended by God's love, grace, and compassion towards Nineveh. So some people during Jesus's day They angrily said to him, Jesus, show us a sign. Show us a sign that you're the true Messiah. In Matthew 12, 39 through 41, Jesus said, oh, you want a sign? I'll show you a sign. And this is what Jesus said, Matthew 12, 39. An evil and an adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall be no sign given be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah 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 earth." What was Jesus saying here? Jesus was referring to his death and resurrection. Think about that. The death and resurrection of Christ. So what is Jesus teaching us here? This is teaching us that when we are at our lowest, when we are low on compassion, when we don't like God's path for our life, when we're dissatisfied with God, in those moments, our hope, our only hope, is God's lavish compassion, God's lavish grace in our lives. Church, that is our only hope in life and in death, is the grace of God. And so this is just another reminder that as humans who are marred by sin, we are all lacking compassion, are we not? I don't know about you, but if there was such a thing as a compassion meter, mine would be on low, way more than I care to admit. So if you are like me, if you're low on compassion today, what do we do about it? What is there to do? Church, I want to commend you. I want to encourage you to look to the cross. Look to the cross. The cross is a constant reminder of God's great compassion toward us. Think back to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians 2 says that we were dead in our trespasses and our sins, but God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace ye are saved. So the more we reflect on the riches of being in Christ, the more we remind ourselves of how much we have been given through Christ, the more compassion God will richly bless us with. This I believe. So remember, Israel. Think back to Israel, the point of the story. Israel, they were getting ready to go through the deep waters of distress, right? They're getting ready to be sent into exile. But Jonah was God's message to Israel saying, when this happens, when you're getting ready to be tossed into this vast ocean, don't be afraid. I will be with you. I will rescue you. I will redeem you. So the Book of Jonah, it should compel us today to be thankful for the incredible grace of our God. It should remind us of how gracious God has been to us every moment of our lives. So church, how are we doing with this? Are we quick to praise God for his grace in our lives? Or are we always stuck on the raw deal we've been given in life? miss opportunities, the lack of opportunities, whatever it is you fill in the blank, what fills your mind? Is it the grace of God or is it one of the things that's distracting you from truly recognizing God's grace in your life? So we need to be careful to remember that because because of Christ, because what he has done for us, because of his forgiveness that we have in him, we should delight in the grace of God. It should excite us beyond belief, because there is nothing, because of everything we've been given through the person of Christ. So, just a quick point of application, then we'll be done this evening. Let's bring it home, let's make it personal. Church, if I asked you, what is one of the goals of this church? How would you answer that question? I'm gonna suggest one goal, and I believe this is appropriate after talking to your pastor and getting to know him a little bit. I think your pastor would fully agree with this. I think one of the goals of this church and every church, in my opinion, we should all desire to be trophies of God's grace. You say, what does that mean? This means having a part in seeing people's lives being transformed by the amazing grace of God. In conclusion, the book of Jonah is not about a great fish. It's about the compassion and grace of our great God. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you so much for this opportunity you've given us. God, you have been so kind to us. You have lavished your grace upon us through the person of Christ. God, I pray tonight that that would just melt our hearts. God, I pray that we would just be overwhelmed with your love and your grace in our lives. God, I pray it would transform us. It would make us into people who are crazy about you and your gospel and your message to the nations. God, I pray that it would compel us to tell others about you. God, I pray that it would shake us out of whatever funk we might be in right now, whatever we are distracted with. God, I pray that your grace would truly transform us and that we would be a church, that Bible Baptist would be a church that's all about your grace and all about extending your grace to those who do not deserve it because we have been forgiven of much. God, we love you and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Pastor? I just want to, let's just have a word of prayer. And just want to throw out a question or thought, too, as we do. Father in heaven, we thank you for the time. Thank you so much for the opportunity and the privilege of being in your house. Lord, as Brother Pugh shared, I just wonder tonight, Father, how many of us need to look at our compassion here? How many of us need to look and say, Father, I need to show compassion upon this person or this people? Maybe we want to challenge ourself, our heart, and say, Lord, I need to see myself as, just as he said, a trophy of grace. Because that's what it is. Because it's because of God's grace that we're here, that we have that eternal hope of salvation. And folks, listen, tonight you might feel like, boy, I don't feel like much of a trophy. Maybe something's got you down. Maybe there's something you're struggling with personally, spiritually, or otherwise. Understand, in God's eyes, you're a valuable trophy. Why? Because just as Brother McHugh said, there's nothing more important to Him than forgiving us and seeing us grow and seeing us become more like Him. We will do a formal invitation tonight. Folks, I want to encourage you. I want to challenge you tonight. Take those things, take those pieces from Jonah. I love God's word. The more we study, the more we believe, the more we get. Are you, do you act like a trophy? How's your compassion on people? That should be our heart's desire. Father in heaven, thank you so much for the privilege of being in your house. Lord, I thank you for this sweet family. Lord, for their burden, their fervor, their desire to serve. Lord, they're not just going across the street, they're going across the board. Lord, we thank you. for those who have dedicated, who are answering the call that you've given out. The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Thank you, Lord, for the laborers who are going to go to Cape Town. Lord, bless them. Help them to raise the support that they need. Lord, be with their family. Protect them in their travels. Lord, just help them as this family grows. And Lord, as they get to Cape Town, Father, as they do your work. Lord, at the same time, may we have a desired father right here. right here to do the same, to show compassion, or to show your love and have a desire to see souls saved. Well, thank you, Jesus. Be with us now. In your precious name, amen. That would be wonderful.