Grace that is Greater than Fear
Jonah 3:1-4
Fear can cripple us. I can cause us to shrink back and to miss the joy of God. It can cause
us to make terrible decisions. It can cause us to sin and to remain in bondage to sin. Fear
can cripple us.
When we walk in Fear:
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That I’ll never be able to escape the past
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That I can’t control the future
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That I will be left unloved if I show people who I really am
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That I can’t defeat the sin that haunts me
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That someone else is betraying me
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That God can’t love me unless I “improve”….or whatever you’re
particular fears might be…
Then we are crippled.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can defeat our fear at the foot of the Cross and
through the power of Christ. Today we’ll see through the God’s actions toward Jonah that
we can conquer fear, not through our own power and steadfastness, but because of a kind,
merciful and charitable God. You see…there’s hope because Grace is Greater than Fear.
(Please open your Bibles to Jonah 3:1-4, Page #667. Here, we’ll see God give Jonah
a second chance. We’ll get a glimpse of a repentant man and we’ll talk about what
true repentance really is, we’ll talk about how Jonah’s suffering has led him to a
point of submissiveness to God, and about the power of God’s grace, for it is grace
that uses affliction to drive men toward God and not away from Him. Then, later on
in the service, during a worship song, you’ll have an opportunity to come forward
and pray with our elders and others…that God might free you from your fears. So,
let’s look at the text together…)
(READ Jonah 3:1-4)
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I
am going to tell you.”
3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now
Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk.
4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and
said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
This is the second approach, by God to Jonah. Remember the sequence of events that
have happened so far:
•
God came to Jonah with a similar command…and the formerly reliable
prophet fled on a ship headed for Spain
•
God stirred up a great storm on the Mediterranean Sea
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Jonah was found to be a cause of the storm so he was thrown overboard
and the storm ceased
•
God’s grace was shown when Jonah was rescued by a great fish and after
three days and three nights Jonah was vomited back on the land…and so
now we start all over again.
And we’ve seen some incredible truths about God already in the first two chapters of this
narrative. We’ve seen that:
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God is sovereign and in control of nature…he sent and calmed the storm
and commanded the great fish to swoop up the disobedient prophet
•
God is sovereign and in control of all events…as we remember that the
sailors cast lots to find out who was causing the unrest in the weather and
the lots fell on Jonah
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God is graceful…He is going to give the Ninevites an opportunity to
repent of their sin and be saved…and He saves Jonah from death by
sending a fish to swallow Him.
And now we see His grace again. He’s giving Jonah a second chance. It’s when we
recognize the incredible power of God…the sovereignty of God…and the grace of God
that has no limits…that we begin to unlock the door to our fears and begin the process of
being freed from them. Grace is greater than fear.
Now…back to the text. Jonah was afraid that Nineveh a powerful enemy of Israel, would
repent. He did not want them to receive God’s favor. Now, he is submitting to God’s will.
Why and how did this prophet change? How did he overcome his fear? I think the
answers are in three themes that emerge from this portion of the story…and the first
theme is:
The nature of true repentance
True repentance begins with words but it doesn’t end with words. Jonah’s prayer while in
the belly of a fish was, as Mark taught last week, a Psalm of thanksgiving. He came to
terms with God’s purposes and how fit into that purpose. Look at verse 9 of chapter two:
“But I will sacrifice to Thee with the voice of Thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I
will pay. Salvation is from the Lord.” – And then “boom” he’s out of the fish. What
happened? Jonah repented…I will sacrifice to Thee…I vow to obey…
But the words are only part of what true repentance really is. They must be followed by
action. Jonah is now acting on the content of his faith. This time he arrives in Nineveh
and begins to preach. Notice that he didn’t know what he would say but he went anyway.
God said to go and “proclaim the proclamation I will tell you.” With a newfound trust
that that vanquished his fear, Jonah sets out for Nineveh.
Nineveh was the most important and powerful city in the world at this time, even larger
than the great city of Babylon which was located about 450 kilometers to the south. In
verse 3 we see Nineveh described as “an exceedingly great city, a three days walk.”
Literally the phrasing would be “Great to God.” All greatness in the Hebrew mind was
associated with God. The place was huge. We’ve already talked about the walls that were
more than 30 meters high and 15 meters thick, and contained in those walls were 1500
citadels or towers. A rendering of what the city may have looked like in its hay-day.
It was extremely large with an estimated population of close to 1 million people. It would
have taken Jonah 3 days to properly proclaim the message throughout the cities.
The next picture shows us the size of the city, 32 kilometers long, 19 across and 96 k in
circumference. Just to give you some perspective, Hope is about 115 Kilometers from
here.
This is a very large land mass for an ancient city. Notice the Tigris River to the
West…which is now Mosul Iraq sits. We don’t know which gate Jonah entered but we do
know that he’ll go back out on the east side while he waits for God to destroy the city so
he probably entered there as well. Interestingly enough, on Jonah’s first day as a visitor
(an ambassador, royalty, or even a prophet who many times were welcomed as a kind of
ambassador from God) would arrive, get settled, locate the appropriate government
officials, and get the proper paperwork in order and then on the second day they would
begin to conduct their business. Jonah probably went through this process but also set out
to preach on the first day.
This is the gate that Jonah may have entered. You can get a sense of the size and majesty
of the place and then finally:
This is a part of the wall that’s been discovered. So, Nineveh is real. Parts of if have been
excavated and reconstructed by archeologists and it would have been a large task for
Jonah to walk its streets and proclaim the judgment of God. But Jonah did it.
True repentance is accompanied by a change of behavior. The Bible talks allot about
repentance. Jesus said in Matthew 4:17, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
You see repentance is the key to opening the door to relationship with God and eternal
life. In Acts 3:19 Peter preached repentance. He proclaimed, “Therefore repent and
return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come
from the presence of the Lord…”
But true repentance brings with it a change of lifestyle, a new kind of behavior. It’s easy
to say “I’m sorry” and expect our spouse or friend to simply give us a pass as we
continue the behavior that we’re apologizing for. It’s easy to say to God, “I’m sorry” but
not submit to Him and allow Him to do whatever it will take in our lives in order to drive
us back to Him. In other words, we many times try to repent on “our” terms and not on
“His.” Because when we repent on His terms, we are giving Him permission to help us
stop that behavior. That might be uncomfortable, or painful, and may cause us to give up
our position of always being right. It might cause us to be vulnerable and force us to take
off our masks. But without true repentance we cannot have eternal life nor will we enjoy
intimacy with Jesus Christ.
Are you a “cheap words” person or are you one who desperately wants to deal with sin?
There’s a difference. Take the time to reflect. It will be worth it.
So, first, Jonah shows us the nature of true repentance. He’s going to Nineveh, and
obey God’s directive for his life. At least for now, he’s learned his lesson.
The next theme or truth we see emerging here is:
The benefit of affliction
Affliction restores us. And contrary to the teaching of our culture, suffering is good.
Elizabeth Elliot has experienced pain and suffering. Her husband Jim was killed on the
mission field. Her second husband died after just 4 years of marriage. She says this about
affliction, “Our vision is so limited we can hardly imagine a love that does not show itself
in protection from suffering.... The love of God did not protect His own Son.... He will
not necessarily protect us - not from anything it takes to make us like His Son., A lot of
hammering and chiseling and purifying by fire will have to go into the process.”
Unfortunately, many of us walk in fear of suffering. We avoid it all costs. We ask
ourselves, “What would it really take for God to make me like His Son?” And we fear the
answer, for the answer may mean change, hardship, loss, and the unflinching work of
God that drives out pride and ushers in humility. Are you willing to go there? I’m not
saying that we should strive for suffering. But what I am saying is that we must give God
permission, deep within our spirits, to inflict suffering if that will lead us to Christ. And
then the “fear-trust” equation begins to emerge. We see Christ in the suffering, we see
that He’s caring for us, and we realize that He’s brought us through it. Our faith is
broadened and deepened, and we then have no reason to fear. The power of Christ has
been tested through fire. Fear has been replaced by trust. We find that His grace is greater
than fear.
The power of God cannot be tested through fire if we run from every fire and even if we
choose to run we may end up like Jonah. He repented, he changed his behavior, and
because of his suffering, he was able to approach the Ninevites with a new credibility.
After all, if this man had endured being swallowed by a fish, was rescued by “his” god,
(their god was a fish god-Mark showed you pictures last week) then we had better listen.
His fall, punishment and restoration were literally a sign to Nineveh of hope that is
available in God’s grace.
God used that time in the fish to prepare Jonah for his mission. He prepared Jacob by
giving him a limp, Moses by giving him 40 years to humble himself, Joseph by afflicting
him with unfair circumstances in which his leadership skills and respect would grow, the
Apostles and the early church through persecution, and that same work of God goes on in
the lives of believers today.
I am a man who has been and will be refined by affliction. I would not wish upon anyone,
the journey of watching a wife die of breast cancer and trying to shepherd children
through the ordeal. I would also not trade that experience for anything in the world, for
through it; God has deepened my dependence on Him, and prepared me to reach out to
others who suffer. Jonah suffered because he needed to suffer. God was going to use him
to save a generation of pagans. Jonah needed to change. He was afflicted. There is
purpose in suffering. Don’t run from it. Find Christ in it.
In this portion of the narrative, Jonah is showing us the nature of true repentance, and
the benefit of suffering.
We also see:
The power of divine grace
It is divine grace that causes men to turn toward God and not away from Him.
(Look at verse 4)
Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and
said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
What’s significant about this verse? Jonah is in Nineveh! That’s a miracle of God’s
grace! Jonah was a fearful man. And as Mark said well last week, it wasn’t his
righteousness or obedient behavior that rescued him from the depths of the sea or brought
him through the city gate into Nineveh. It was God’s grace. Grace is greater than fear.
When Jonah was instructed by God, the first time, to go to Nineveh he ran. He was set on
avoiding an undesirable result, which in his mind, was that the people of this enemy city
would repent. So, he ran. God could have let him go. He didn’t need Jonah. He could
have used anyone. He wanted to use Jonah because Jonah needed Him. Thus God’s grace
turned the prophet back to himself.
The grace of God is greater than any fear. Without the presence of God’s grace, affliction
by its very nature would drive us away from God. Maybe you’ve been through some stuff
or you’re currently going through some stuff.
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Maybe you’re like Elizabeth Elliot and you’ve lost a spouse or even two.
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Maybe you’re going through a divorce or your spouse has abandoned
you.
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Maybe your money has dried up.
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Maybe you’re friends have turned against you.
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Maybe your tired of being single and the loneliness is eating at you, or
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Maybe growing older is harder than you expected.
But you’ve come through. You’re still walking with God. I’m glad but it’s not you.
You are walking with God for only one reason; God is full of grace. God is full of grace.
God is full of grace. This is not about you, it is about the power of the cross, the saving
blood of Jesus Christ that purchased you and it is about continuing and future grace that
drives you toward God. Don’t for a minute think that you are by yourself righteous. You
are not. You are being driven forward by grace that is greater than fear.
Paul laments in Romans 3:10-12, using the words from six Old Testament passages
“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE
IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME
USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” Jonah wasn’t
righteous, you and I are not righteous, but we stand clothed in Christ’s righteousness
because of grace.
Listen:
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•
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The nature of true repentance means a change of action, a humbling,
and an act of obedience to come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The benefit of affliction is that it drives us to Christ…to the One who
suffered and:
The power of divine grace steers us toward God and not away from Him
when we are in the midst of that suffering.
Where are you this morning? What are you afraid of? Are you:
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Caught in a sin of which repentance seems like a futile exercise?
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Afraid that if you give yourself totally to Christ that He will lead you into
suffering that will ruin you and change the life that you’ve so carefully
constructed?
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Afraid that you’ll be asked to give up something that’s precious to you?
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Wondering if God is really gracious and can forgive you.
Let’s spend some time in prayer this morning. I would like to ask our elders and staff
who’ve agreed to be available this morning, to join me now here in the front. Mike is
going to lead us in a song as a congregation. While others are singing I want you to feel
the freedom to come forward to receive prayer. It may be for:
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Things I’ve discussed this morning
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Conquering fear
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The ability to submit to Christ…
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An illness
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Family member…or
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Financial hardship….
Whatever the problem…it’s good to pray. It’s good to be loved by other believers. Mike
will sing…come forward now to pray and then we’ll close our service together…
(Prayer)
(Benediction)