NEW SERIES: Jonah: God’s Heart for the City
TEXT: Jonah 1:1-6
MESSAGE: When God Intervenes
“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others…The church must share in the secular problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
VISION: “To be a church for our city that seeks new life in Jesus.”
Church IN the City
Church AGAINST the City
Church OF the City
Church FOR the City
“The church has to be everywhere there are people but the people are moving into the city faster than the church. If you love what God loves, you will love the city…We should sacrificially lay our lives out for the people in (the) city. People should see that we care about them, that we love them.” – Tim Keller
“…as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”— Romans 3:10-12
TEXT: Jonah 1:1-6
What does God’s message reveal about Jonah? It reveals three internal truths about Jonah. (1. A New Assignement 2. A Rebellious Heart 3. A Desperate Need)
1. A New Assignment (v. 1)
v.1 “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai…”
2. A Rebellious Heart (v. 2-3)
“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
“…a (word) meant to have a clear fresh light shed upon oneself, or society, or the nations, by the Living God.” – Sinclair Ferguson
3. A Desperate Need (v. 5-6)
“Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”
“…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…” – 1 Peter 3:15
TAKEAWAYS:
- Realize God’s “now” assignment for you
- Run to God, not away from Him
“The marker of those who understand the gospel of Jesus Christ is that, when they stumble and fall, when they screw up, they run to God and not from him, because they clearly understand that their acceptance before God is not predicated upon their behavior but on the righteous life of Jesus Christ and his sacrificial death.” – Matt Chandler (Explicit Gospel)
- Remember the need around us
“The most pervasive and common thread of our autopsies was that the deceased churches lived for a long time with the past as hero. They held on more tightly with each progressive year. They often clung to things of the past with desperation and fear. And when any internal or external force tried to change the past, they responded with anger and resolution: “We will die before we change.” ― Thom S. Rainer
“Vibrant and living churches look after the interests of others. They are concerned for their communities. They open the door for others.” ― Thom S. Rainer
“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” — Luke 9:51