Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Good morning, Christ Church.
[00:00:03] Good to see you today.
[00:00:06] I think summer has finally arrived.
[00:00:09] Are you happy about that?
[00:00:11] Yes, me too. But it's good to see you. My name's Chet. If we haven't had the chance to meet, I would love to meet you. And today we're gonna continue our sermon series through the book of Jonah.
[00:00:25] But right before we do that, I wanna ask you to say some special prayers this week.
[00:00:31] So many of you know, you know we're on the one yard line of getting this building project started.
[00:00:40] But there's some good goal line defense here.
[00:00:43] No, we're on the one yard line. But we. God has brought us to this point through prayer. We couldn't even be here without God opening doors and doing amazing things.
[00:00:54] And every step of this journey, God has to be in it. We can't do it without him. So this week we are going to our second zoning meeting on Wednesday at 6:30. I'm expecting that to go well and getting approval, but I want you praying for that. You got me.
[00:01:12] And then we're closing the loan this week. So be praying for that. That's all just smooth and easy because here's kind of our overall prayer is that we could actually start on the 26th of this month.
[00:01:26] So. Yeah. Which would be amazing. But I need you praying. Let's be praying together as a church and hopefully next Sunday I can come up here and we can celebrate an amazing thing. Sound good?
[00:01:40] All right. That was very mediocre.
[00:01:46] That's better. That's better. We're getting there. We're getting there.
[00:01:51] Baby steps.
[00:01:53] Yeah. I think I definitely put the first service to sleep. So I'm going to need you.
[00:01:59] I'm going to need you to recover because that was a them problem, not a me problem. At least that's the way I see it.
[00:02:05] But let me say a prayer for this and please would you just be praying all week long?
[00:02:10] But let's pray. Father, thank you for this time. To be with you today. I pray you could speak to our hearts. I pray you could, Father. Just confront what is broken in us, Lord, where.
[00:02:25] Where we move away from you and we run from you. And we allow our hearts to be hardened instead of become tender like yours. Would you shape us and change us and help us? And Father, could we be people that love your mercy, that seek your mercy and that are agents of your mercy in this world? And I ask all this in Jesus name. Amen.
[00:02:50] Well, this week I got home late one evening. It was kind of at the point where come home And I thought maybe the kids would be asleep at that point. I like to time my week that way. Just kidding. Just kidding. It's a joke. Relax.
[00:03:08] And I thought it was kind of be about that time, but I came home, and they weren't asleep. And I noticed Emory was in our room in a chair. So I was like, all right, this clearly is not going well. You know, I know when that happens, it's not good. And so I asked Sally. I said, hey, like, what's going on? She's like, well, Emory just threw a huge temper tantrum. Emery's my oldest. She's seven. Said she threw a massive temper tantrum. Said, like, she's just uncontrollable, flailing on the floor, all that. Deal. You know, I know your kids are perfect, but apparently we got some sinners in our household, and she's throwing this massive temper tantrum. And so she kind of sent her there, and I sort of got the vibe.
[00:03:55] And maybe dads, you sort of know this vibe where it's kind of Mom's like, I'm done. This is your problem now.
[00:04:04] I've been married for 13 years. I'm finally starting to learn something, you know?
[00:04:10] And so I went in there, and I said, emery, hey, why are you in here? She's like, oh, I don't know.
[00:04:18] Great.
[00:04:20] And I was like, well, you're in here for a reason. I started to ask her questions, and she wasn't giving me a whole lot.
[00:04:28] And then finally, I just. I was like, what is going on here? Cause I truly was confused. And I was like, emery, are you sad?
[00:04:35] And all of a sudden, she just started crying.
[00:04:38] And I said, honey, I said, what is going on? What's wrong? And she said, my tooth hurts. And she's had this little tooth that is just hanging on for dear life.
[00:04:51] And I was like, I bet it does. You know, that thing's all over the place. Student. And. And as soon as I heard that, like, my heart was just moved to compassion, you know, I was just like, ah, poor girl. Cause don't you have those times where, you know, someone's not acting in a good way, but then you hear what's going on underneath the surface all of a sudden? Like, you're not angry anymore. You're like, I want to help them.
[00:05:15] I want to love them in this moment? And that was one of those moments. And it was, you know, very easy to move on to compassion. And I think, honestly, she had gotten all her anger out anyway, so there was none left for me to worry About.
[00:05:31] And it went okay from there. Because when you see what's going on under the surface and you see hurt or pain or that kind of thing, it's easy to move on. And today I bring that up. Cause as we come to the end of Jonah, we've been seeing Jonah acting like a knucklehead.
[00:05:52] We've been seeing Jonah just acting in these unhealthy ways. And today we're going to get a look underneath the surface, and Jonah's finally gonna come clean with what's actually going on. But here's a little bit of a twist on it. You're probably gonna hear it, and you're not gonna be compassionate. You're gonna be like, wow, Jonah, you just made this worse.
[00:06:16] But the good news is, and as we've seen again and again and again, is that God is still gonna bring compassion to him. God is still gonna bring mercy to him. God is still gonna be patient with him. That even when we're at our worst and there's no good story behind it, God's so kind to us, and we see that in Jonah. And I think this is gonna help us to understand our own hearts in a helpful way.
[00:06:42] Now, to catch us up to speed, what we've seen is Jonah had been called by God to go bring a message to Nineveh, which is the ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire. They were the most powerful and dominant empire at this time in history. And they were also notoriously cruel and nasty and brutal. And so Jonah gets this call from God, and he's like, I want nothing to do with this.
[00:07:10] I hate those people.
[00:07:12] It'd be like the Lord saying, I want you to go to Pittsburgh. You're like, I could. I would never.
[00:07:18] Just kidding. I would never. No, too far. I get it.
[00:07:24] But Jonah's like, I don't want any of it. And he begins to run from God, and eventually the Lord just runs him down and brings him back. And Jonah goes back to the city of Nineveh and he shares the message. And the whole city turns their heart back towards God. It is like the most unbelievable thing you could ever imagine. And Jonah just goes in and he preaches this very, very simple message.
[00:07:59] And.
[00:08:01] And their hearts turn towards God. And then we get Jonah's reaction to all this. Now you think Jonah would be like, wow, God, I'm so sorry I drugged my feet. God, I'm so sorry I ran from you all this time. I'm so sorry.
[00:08:19] You would think that there'd be celebration and acknowledgement of all that Goes on. But here's what happens. Jonah, chapter 4, verse 1.
[00:08:29] But it displeased Jonah exceedingly.
[00:08:36] And he was angry.
[00:08:38] God just used Jonah to literally change the hearts of a city.
[00:08:44] And Jonah is irate with God.
[00:08:48] Jonah is throwing a tantrum. Jonah is deeply angry.
[00:08:54] And it gets worse. And he prayed to the Lord and said, o Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That's why I made haste to flee to Tarshish. For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster.
[00:09:17] Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.
[00:09:24] This is an adult temper tantrum.
[00:09:28] Do you know anyone that's ever thrown one?
[00:09:32] Have you ever thrown one as an adult?
[00:09:35] This is Jonah saying.
[00:09:37] And hear what he's saying to God. He's saying, God, this is why I didn't wanna go in the first place.
[00:09:43] I knew you were gonna forgive them.
[00:09:47] I knew you were merciful. I didn't wanna go all the way. I knew that you were gonna give kindness to them, even though they don't deserve it. Because I know that's what you're like.
[00:10:01] And I don't like it.
[00:10:03] And I don't wanna be part of it. Do you see where Jonah's at here?
[00:10:08] And he says, and so that's why I didn't wanna go. And he says, and now, Lord, just kill me.
[00:10:14] It's literally what he says.
[00:10:18] Just swing low, sweet chariot, I'm done.
[00:10:22] And I know we've all had those days. We're just done. I mean, Jonah, he's done. He's so angry, he doesn't even know what to do. And look at God. Look at God's patience.
[00:10:34] If I were God, honestly, I'd be like, jonah, I'll answer that prayer, lightning bolt. Cause I'm annoyed with Jonah for God right now. Anybody else like, bro, give it a rest.
[00:10:49] Anybody.
[00:10:51] But look at how kind God is. He says, jonah, do you do well, to be angry like that to me is such a patient response there, Jonah. Okay, slow down, buddy.
[00:11:07] Is this a good response for you or for anybody? Like, does this even make sense? Jonah, Jonah, hear what you're saying.
[00:11:18] Listen to yourself. You ever think that about someone? Like, listen to what you're saying.
[00:11:23] The Lord is trying to correct him, to redirect him, to help him to step out of this fog of anger and self pity and to see the way things really are. But it gets worse. Church. Jonah went out of the city, sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there.
[00:11:45] He sat under it in the shade till he should see what would become of the city.
[00:11:49] Now the Lord God appointed a plant, made it come up over Jonah that it might be shade over his head to save him from his discomfort.
[00:11:58] So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.
[00:12:01] But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind. The sun beat down on the head of Jonah, so he was faint. And again he asked that he might die and said, it's better for me to die than to live. But God said to Jonah, do you do well to be angry for the plant? He said, I do well to be angry. Angry enough to die.
[00:12:27] The Lord said, you pity the plant for which you did not labor, nor you did not make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who don't know their right from their left, and also much cattle.
[00:12:45] And that is the end of the Book of Jonah.
[00:12:50] That's what we call a cliffhanger.
[00:12:54] What happens? Does Jonah finally get it?
[00:12:57] Like, does he. Does he say, oh, okay, God, it's all clicked now.
[00:13:03] I see it. I'm sorry. I mean, I hope he does.
[00:13:07] His track record doesn't give me a lot of encouragement.
[00:13:10] But the Book of Jonah, it leaves us with this. Because what this book really wants us to do is to see the Jonah in our hearts and to see us in Jonah.
[00:13:26] This book, it leaves us hanging because we don't know what happened to Jonah. And actually, it doesn't matter, because what this book is trying to lead us to, to say what is in your heart?
[00:13:38] What is happening there between you and God?
[00:13:42] How are you living your life? Are you digging your heels in at every turn?
[00:13:48] Are you fighting with God and everyone else?
[00:13:51] Or do you have a heart that is willing to humble yourself and to learn and to grow and become who God wants you to be? This book is meant for us to answer that question personally and not to worry about Jonah, but to worry about our own heart. And this ending is challenging.
[00:14:12] I think when you read these verses, we're meant to feel a little pinched by these.
[00:14:18] A little hit in the gut, say, yeah, what's really happening here?
[00:14:23] And what is God doing now? Ultimately, I think what we See here is Jonah suffered from a calloused heart.
[00:14:32] He knew God, he was a prophet.
[00:14:37] I mean, he'd been around the block.
[00:14:40] Even when he responds to God and says, God, I know who you are, his answer is right.
[00:14:46] He's quoting Exodus 33, which is this amazing passage where God reveals himself to Moses and Jonah, it's a bullseye. That is who God is. But even though he knows God and even though he served God, and even though he's been privileged to have this role in God's plan, over time something happened and his heart became calloused.
[00:15:11] And I think this is a good thing for us to think about today. Because if you're a follower of Jesus, the same thing can happen to you.
[00:15:19] And when our hearts become callous, we stop loving the mercy of God in a way that we should and we stop becoming agents of God. And instead in place of that, this sort of unhealthy self righteousness grows in its place.
[00:15:43] If you have been a follower of Jesus for a while, you've probably met some very self righteous Christians at some point and you have felt judged, looked down on, belittled.
[00:15:57] Maybe you met Christians and you're like, well, you have all the right answers, but man, it seems like venom is coming out of you.
[00:16:05] How does that happen? That's the book of Jonah church. That's the callus. See, God's intent church is that each of us, as we follow him, our hearts would become more tender that our desire to hate people and root for them, to fail and count them as lost and be apathetic and uncaring, that over time that would be replaced with a heart that is merciful, that loves, that loves what God loves and believes in the power of God's mercy. But again, what we see in Jonah is that's not what's happening.
[00:16:47] Somehow he's gone off course. His heart is getting calloused and not tender. And so today we need to just take a moment and look at our heart and we need to ask this Jonah question, is what's happening? Is it a callousing effect or is it a tendering effect?
[00:17:07] Is my heart being more callous and are these red flags I need to pay attention to or do I see God growing more of a heart of mercy in. That's what I want us to think about today. Now let's look at Jonah's heart to begin with. So Jonah is so angry that God gives mercy to Nineveh.
[00:17:31] God, God, you.
[00:17:36] I'm so angry about it now. Many times I've Heard people tell me that one of the questions they struggle with in some form or some fashion is, why do bad things happen to good people? Have you heard that question before? Maybe you thought about it, and that's a good question to think about and talk about. And there's a lot to that that I would love to unpack, but I'm not going to today.
[00:18:00] Another cliffhanger here.
[00:18:02] But Jonah, I want you to see. Jonah is a reversal of that question.
[00:18:06] His question is, why do good things happen to bad people?
[00:18:13] Have you ever asked that question?
[00:18:16] And I think we all actually have, right? Have you ever looked at someone in your life and you're like, kinda. And we're just gonna be honest today, okay?
[00:18:25] You don't have to be, but it'll be more fun if we are.
[00:18:29] Have you ever looked at someone and just said, they don't deserve that?
[00:18:34] Now, maybe you didn't say it out loud, maybe you didn't say it to anyone, but you thought that in your heart.
[00:18:40] And that's this question, how can good things happen to that person?
[00:18:49] You with me?
[00:18:50] And this is what Jonah is struggling with. And behind that question and behind the other question, too, is a missing self awareness.
[00:19:05] See, here's what Jesus teaches again and again. And this specifically in Matthew, chapter seven, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, if you see a speck in your brother's eye, first take out the log in your own, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck in your brothers. You with me?
[00:19:34] Jonah had a log in his eye. You with me?
[00:19:39] And granted, Ninevehs, they're not great, But Jonah was unwilling to see his own need for mercy. Here's what I mean. In life, church, it's easy to want compassion for ourselves when we mess up and to want consequences for everyone else when they mess up. You with me?
[00:20:05] Have you ever found yourself, like, when you mess up, you're like, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that. And you judge yourself by your intentions. That's not what I meant. It came out wrong. I didn't know that this would happen. And we judge ourselves by our intentions, and then we judge others by their actions, and others do something wrong to us. And we're like, I don't care what you meant.
[00:20:31] You see the double standard there? So for me, I want grace and mercy.
[00:20:38] For you, I want the hammer. You with me on this, well, guess what? That's a double standard.
[00:20:45] In other words, and this is where Jonah is at. Jonah's like, I want God to give me mercy.
[00:20:53] I've been running, I've been fighting, I've been turning my back.
[00:20:57] I want God to do what I want, but I don't want him to give mercy to the people that I don't like. That's a calloused heart church.
[00:21:08] That means that we're missing some important things that God wants to do beneath the surface of my life. You with me on this church.
[00:21:19] And what that breeds within us is just this ugly self righteousness that we see in Jonah, this callous, this desire to see the worst happen to these people. Now here's what I think should have happened. Jonah should have saw God's mercy to Nineveh.
[00:21:43] And I think it should have been a faith building experience for him.
[00:21:48] He should have said, man, if God is so kind to his enemies, how much more kind will he be to his own people, to the nation of Israel? If God is so kind to them, when they turn to them, how much more so will God be so kind to his sons and daughters? Reminds me, when I was in the National Guard, we used to go to Camp Atterbury in Indiana a lot for training.
[00:22:14] And it's a huge area. But during World War II it was a POW camp.
[00:22:19] So German soldiers were sent across seas and tons and tons of them were in prison there. And there's a section of the camp that still you can go and see today. And it has an area where they are and it has this little chapel that they built.
[00:22:37] Now they didn't have tools and things like that, so they just like salvaged stuff and used what was around them. And they even were able to paint it, like using the plants and stuff. And it's really, really pretty cool to see. And you know, it's like a historic site right now. But part of that story is that many of those POWs, they never ended up leaving America.
[00:23:02] And here's what happened.
[00:23:04] They realized that if this is how America treats their enemies because they were treated humanely, they were treated with a sense of dignity, they were just treated in a way they weren't expecting. And they said, if America treats their enemies this way, how much better do they treat their citizens?
[00:23:28] And for many of them, being there actually changed their hearts and gave them a new perspective and a new way of life. Because they said, if this is how they treat their enemies, how do they treat their friends?
[00:23:44] And I think this is what should have happened in Jonah.
[00:23:49] If God is so good to Nineveh, then I can expect that he will be good to me and to the People that I love.
[00:24:00] And it meant to be something that builds his faith, not makes him resent God. But Jonah doesn't get there. And then the story gets even worse. So he goes out and God says, jonah, is it right to be angry? He goes out of the city and he makes camp there.
[00:24:21] Now, just think about the irony of this for a moment.
[00:24:25] Throughout the book of Jonah, you could not get that guy to Nineveh.
[00:24:30] You can get him there.
[00:24:32] God had to send a walleye to finally get him there.
[00:24:37] At least that's my theory.
[00:24:39] It's a big fish, not a whale. I like to imagine it as a walleye.
[00:24:44] And you couldn't get this guy. It was just crazy. Now he's in Nineveh, and he won't leave.
[00:24:52] He's like, you know what? This looks like a good campsite.
[00:24:56] I'm just gonna camp here. And he just makes this little booth, whatever that means. I've seen a lot of episodes of Alone.
[00:25:05] Anybody see that? That survival show?
[00:25:07] It's kinda. It's hard. That show is, like, so boring. But I can't stop watching it.
[00:25:12] Like, you just see, sit. But I'm like, I have to see who wins. I gotta see everything that happens. Nothing really happens. But I've seen a lot of the shelters that they build there, and even the most impressive ones are not that impressive.
[00:25:26] Even, like, the very best ones, like, that's still pretty rough living. So I'm guessing whatever Jonah built wasn't all that great.
[00:25:36] Whatever his little campsite ended up being, probably wasn't a great place to stay and hang out. But have you ever noticed that sometimes we. When you are angry and you are miserable, you just stay in that spot instead of moving on, and you just increase your misery and indulge yourself in it? Or maybe I'm the only one here that does it.
[00:26:05] You ever throw a pity party for yourself and you're like, today I'm gonna feel bad for myself.
[00:26:12] I'm gonna start when I wake up, and I don't know when this party's gonna end.
[00:26:17] And maybe it goes a day, maybe it goes a week, maybe it goes months. I don't know. You ever been there? Church, this is Jonah.
[00:26:26] Here's the smart thing. All right, Jonah, you finally did what God asks you.
[00:26:31] Now move on.
[00:26:34] He didn't want to be in Nineveh. Why are you staying here now?
[00:26:38] Well, sometimes when we are miserable, we like to just keep adding to our misery as part of the brokenness of human nature. It's like we dug this hole and you're like, you know what? I'm not sure this is deep enough. Let me get a few more.
[00:26:54] And this is what Jonah's doing, and he's just making himself more miserable, and he's sitting in it, and he's just indulging anger and his frustration. And Church, sometimes. Sometimes we just have to say, all right, I'm moving on.
[00:27:13] I'm closing the Nineveh chapter, and I'm stepping into the next chapter. That would have been a better response, but Jonah says, nope, I'm gonna keep this chapter open for longer. I don't know about you, but there are some days where honestly, I'll just talk to myself. Well, I talk to myself most days, but I'll have a stern conversation with myself, and I'll just say, all right, dude, are you done feeling sorry for yourself?
[00:27:42] You have 15 more minutes, and then it's time to do something. And honestly, that helps me.
[00:27:48] Honestly, sometimes it's like, oh, yeah, okay, let's move on.
[00:27:52] Let's do something else. Let's step out of this place and not stay in it. But. But Jonah stays in it. And. And maybe worst of all, instead of breaking camp and moving on, he sits there and he roots for Nineveh's destruction.
[00:28:13] Because he's sitting there now. If you read the text again, he's. He's waiting to see. Well. Well, maybe.
[00:28:19] Maybe the Lord's gonna get these guys finally.
[00:28:24] And he's just in such a bad place that he's rooting for their destruction. Now, when we're at that spot in our lives where we're upset with everyone, like, everybody at home is driving me crazy.
[00:28:41] Everybody at work is driving me crazy.
[00:28:44] Everybody on this road with me right now, while I'm driving is driving me crazy.
[00:28:49] And when you are in that spot, here's the good news.
[00:28:54] The problem is you.
[00:28:58] And you can be sure of it.
[00:29:00] Cause there's no way everyone. Like, there's gotta be one. There's gotta be one person that's getting it right. Where you're like, no, it's everybody. Guess what, Church. The problem is you.
[00:29:12] And that's a time where we need to humble ourselves before God and not dig our heels in any deeper. You with me?
[00:29:20] Cause all you're gonna do is add to your misery. And that's exactly what Jonah is doing here. And then just let me say, I just.
[00:29:30] It's just.
[00:29:31] It's a bad sign in our hearts when we are rooting for other people to fail.
[00:29:38] And that's Jonah here. He wants God to bring the hammer down on Nineveh.
[00:29:44] And I would say that one good red flag, not a good, but one red flag to pay attention to is when we find in our hearts either that inability to celebrate the success of other people.
[00:30:01] Where it bothers you that, like, someone has a blessing.
[00:30:06] Why is it so easy? Why do they have that?
[00:30:09] That's a red flag, Church. That means there's a callousing effect happening on our heart. Or when we literally are, like, rooting. Like, don't you hate that evil in your heart where maybe things don't go well for someone? And part of you has like this, like, I'm kind of glad about that now. We'll never admit those things out loud.
[00:30:31] You won't even admit it. I see your face right now. You're like, it's just you.
[00:30:36] But church.
[00:30:39] That may be so, but this is what the book of Jonah is calling out of us.
[00:30:46] It's saying, that's not God's desire for us. That's not God's heart.
[00:30:51] In fact, Jesus says. He says, I want you to have a heart that is willing to pray for your enemies.
[00:30:58] Well, Lord, I'm not even there. I'm just trying not to be jealous of my friends. You with me, it's a journey. But that's the heart that God's trying to grow in us. One that is driven by mercy, not jealousy, driven by compassion, not vengeance.
[00:31:18] Driven by God's heart, not our hate. You with me on this?
[00:31:23] And the truth is, get this. Have you seen Jonah happy at one point in this book?
[00:31:30] The dude's not happy at all. Why? Cause it's a miserable way of life.
[00:31:36] Mercy is more fun.
[00:31:39] Mercy glorifies God. Mercy is healing to our soul. And that's ultimately the lesson that God wants to teach Jonah and to teach us. God says to Jonah, he says, look, I know you love this plant cause it gave you some shade.
[00:31:56] But when I took it away, you were all upset. And God says then, Jonah, am I not allowed to love my creation?
[00:32:05] Am I not allowed to love people who bear my image?
[00:32:10] Don't I have that right? Isn't it my prerogative to show mercy? In other words, he's saying, jonah, I want your heart to grow in mercy.
[00:32:21] And maybe a good way to sum up this whole book is Micah chapter six. Micah was a prophet around the time of Jonah. And he says it this way. He has told you, O man, what is good? What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.
[00:32:44] And those verses are kind of like the antidote to the book of Jonah, because Jonah fails in all three of those. What is doing justice? Justice is I am serving people in the way God wants me to.
[00:33:00] When we do that, we make a better and more righteous world. A more just world. Jonah was a very reluctant servant to God. Now get this.
[00:33:12] God didn't need Jonah.
[00:33:15] He didn't need Jonah to go to Nineveh. God could have done it without Jonah, but Jonah needed to go to Nineveh. You see the difference?
[00:33:25] The truth is, God doesn't need people like you and me to serve him.
[00:33:30] He can do just fine without us, but we need to serve him because it helps change our heart. You with me on this?
[00:33:40] God used this opportunity to do something in Jonah. And God uses our service to him to do something in our lives. And then Micah says, to love mercy, to love kindness. This word can be translated all those ways. Steadfast love. It's all of those ideas. What does God want to. To do justice, to love mercy.
[00:34:09] Jonah should have looked at Nineveh and praised God, not resented him.
[00:34:14] He should have looked at it and it should have been a moment of worship, not drawing away.
[00:34:20] And loving mercy means man. We love God's gracious heart because we realize we need it just as much as anyone else.
[00:34:31] Guess what? The people that I don't like, they need Christ just as much as I do.
[00:34:36] The people that I want to despise in my heart, I'm no better than they are. You with me?
[00:34:43] I need God just as much as they do. I may not feel like that, but I do. And as soon as I start to realize that, it puts my heart in a healthier place.
[00:34:55] Micah says we need to learn to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. There's not a lot of humility in Jonah. I see a lot of stubbornness.
[00:35:07] I see a lot of reluctance.
[00:35:11] I see a lot of self righteousness.
[00:35:13] I see a lot of pride in digging in his heels. But here's a better way to walk humbly with our God. To say, lord, I'm open to your voice.
[00:35:27] I know before I ask you to change anyone else, I'm asking you to change me.
[00:35:34] Before I'm asking you to do anything else on someone else's heart. I'm asking you would change my heart and church. When that's our starting point, it's better for us and everyone else. Let's pray.
[00:35:47] Father, we love you and I thank you for your mercy.
[00:35:54] That is inexhaustible I thank you, Lord, that though we can so easily have a calloused heart, you're patient with us.
[00:36:09] And, Lord, you're at work making it more of what you want it to be.
[00:36:16] I pray, Father, that you would help us to be people who do justice, who serve you, because we see that it is the essential way of life.
[00:36:31] Make us people who love mercy.
[00:36:34] I pray you'd root out jealousy and selfish ambition and hate and bitterness, and you'd nurture our love for mercy.
[00:36:45] And, Lord, help us to walk humbly with you.
[00:36:48] Guard us from self righteousness, guard us from pride, guard us from our soul being infected with those things, and give us a heart like Christ.
[00:36:59] We ask all this in the great name of Jesus. Amen.
