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The Displeased Prophet

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• Jonah chapter 4 today. Jonah chapter 4. And I want us to read all of that chapter. It's a very short chapter, 11 verses. And this will be the final message on Jonah, at least for a while. Jonah chapter 4, beginning there with verse 1. The title of the message is "The Displeased Prophet." The displeased prophet. Jonah chapter 4 verse 1, "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry."

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• And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish, for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take I beseech thee my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?

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• So Jonah went out of the city, and set on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, until he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow, or a shade over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did rise, that God prepared a vehement east wind, and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry even unto death. Then said the Lord, Thou hast pity on the gourd for the which thou hast not laboured, neither made it sit to grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.

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• And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle?" And Jonah is the only preacher that I know, or at least one of the few that I've ever known that was displeased with the fact that his message was successful and blessed by God. Jonah, of course, was mad that God spared the Assyrians. He did not want them spared. He wanted them destroyed.

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• So here's a good question. Think about this. Have you ever been mad at God? Have you ever been displeased with the providence of God in your life? Have you gone through tests and trials and afflictions and thought to yourself, I don't deserve this? Well, the truth of the matter is, you did deserve it. And actually, you deserve even worse. God was just merciful unto you and did not give you that which you really deserved.

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• Recently, I saw a headline out of WALB, which is a TV station in Albany, Georgia, but I read the headline on the internet and it was concerning a wreck and the headline was this: "No one deserves to die like this." Someone died in that wreck. I do not know who. I did not see that particular time, but I can assure you the family who lost a loved one in that wreck was certainly mad at God and displeased with the providence of God in that individual's life. And the truth is, yes, he did deserve to die like that.

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• In fact, he deserved even worse. It's never a joyous experience for a family to lose a loved one. Understand that. But we have to understand also that we're sinners and that we are going to die. So Jonah is one of these individuals who is exceedingly critical and angry with God.

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• Now before you condemn Jonah and his bitterness and resentment and anger, you have to examine your own life. So let me ask you a question. Have you ever been upset with God enough to voice your anger? Now Jonah certainly did. He voiced it very fully and freely. But the truth of the matter is most of us would never ever voice our anger and our resentment and our bitterness at God. But although we would not say what Jonah said and we would not necessarily act the way Jonah acted, the truth of the matter is that we would display our anger not only in our attitude but in our disposition as well. I've known Christians that have become angry with God at the loss of a husband, a wife, a child.

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• In fact, I had an uncle who lost his wife after something like 55, 56 years. And he was exceedingly critical and angry with God because he lost his wife. And the truth of the matter is he died as well shortly thereafter. So I'm just simply saying there is not one family that has not been touched by death. There's not one family that has not lost a loved one. So, Jonah here is exceedingly angry.

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• So, here's a few questions that we can ask in light of the title of this message, "The Displeased Prophet." Have you ever been angry with God? My next question would be this. Did it do you any good to be angry with God? Did it change His providence? Did it stop Him from accomplishing His purpose? And the answer, of course, is absolutely not. And so I could ask this question, who then suffered because of your anger, your resentment, and your bitterness? Certainly it was not God. It was you. And not only it was you, it was probably others who suffered because of you. Let me show you.

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• If you would hold Jonah chapter 4, but I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. And let's begin reading it with verse 15. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 15. Look, if you would, what God says specifically concerning bitterness. Watch. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 15. God says, "Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. Lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." But note, if you would, he talks in verse 15 about the root of bitterness. And he said that root of bitterness will spring up and trouble you. And then he says, "and thereby many be defiled."

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• So bitterness and resentment will not only eat you alive, it will spread to other people like a canker and affect them as well. So most Christians, when you think about this and you observe what is happening in the land today, and especially in most churches, most Christians are like a spoiled child, especially when it comes to discipline and correction. We want what we want. And we want it when we want it.

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• And God had better not get in our way. That's the way most people think. We've got to have our way or else we will show Him. And the truth of the matter is, we don't show Him. It is true that God is absolutely sovereign. It is God who does His pleasure. It is God who fulfills His counsel. It is God who fulfills His purpose. And no one can hinder Him, thwart Him, overthrow Him, or stop Him. Because God is sovereign and God is God. That's what the psalmist said in Psalm 115 in verse 3, "But our God is in the heavens."

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• He does whatsoever He pleases. So God's the only one that can really do as He pleases. And then, of course, in Isaiah 46 in verse 10, He said, "Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all of My pleasure."

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• Now, we have to come to the realization that God's will is absolutely best for us. We may not understand it. We may not like it. We may not necessarily agree with it, but we have to bow and say, yes, God's will is absolutely the best for us. And let me clear up something right now. Each one of us have suffered some more than others. Each one has been through tests.

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• trials, afflictions, some are going through them now. Don't you understand that God is not some old meanie in heaven that's just waiting to beat the living tar out of each one of us? That's not what the scripture says. In Lamentations chapter 3 and verse 33, the Bible said, "He does not afflict willingly or grieve the children of men." God does not willingly afflict us. God is not waiting just to spring upon us and whip us so we can't walk.

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• No, not by any stretch of the imagination. Our Heavenly Father is not some old meanie that enjoys depriving us, chastening us, and causing us heartache. And I can say that no, a thousand times no. And I want you to listen to Matthew chapter 7 and verse 11. Listen to what the Bible says. "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give good things to them that ask you?" Now stop and think about that verse. "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children." Every one of us that have had children, we know what it means to give good gifts to them and to please them, and we're happy to do that, especially when they're obedient and when they're submissive and they live and do that which is right and that which they should do. And God said, "If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give good things to them that ask him?"

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• So if we're going to be bitter and resentful, then what we need to do is be bitter and resentful at ourselves, at our ignorance and our sin and our rebellion, that causes God oftentimes to chasten us.

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• Now, I told you that Jonah was a very angry man, and he was. If you will look in your Bibles to Jonah chapter 4 and verse 1, look at this. "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry." Now, skip down to verse 4. "Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?" Wow. Now look in verse 9, "And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?" So three times now, God has pointed out the fact that Jonah is one angry man.

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• And by the way, the word angry here is the Hebrew word harah, which literally means to be hot, to be furious, to burn, to become angry, to be kindled and to work oneself into vexation. So Jonah is not someone who's just a little ticked. Jonah is someone who is exceedingly furious against God. So why was Jonah angry? Well, the answer is because God had mercy on the Assyrians. As I pointed out in the first message, the Assyrians were enemies of God's people. And by the way, if the Lord allows us to live, and I get to preach next Sunday, you will find out something very informative about the Assyrians, something that most of us have not even considered at this particular time. But the truth of the matter is, Jonah knew exactly that which the Assyrians were going to do to Israel, and he did not want the Assyrians to attack Israel and destroy Israel, and so therefore he wanted their destruction. He wanted their doom.

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• If you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 8, 2 Kings chapter 8. I'll give you a good parallel. This is almost the way Elisha felt when he was talking to Hazael. And notice, if you would, what Elisha did and how he composed himself until basically he was ashamed. So, in 2 Kings chapter 8, beginning there with verse 7, look at this. 2 Kings chapter 8 and verse 7. "Then Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, was sick."

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• And it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover this disease? So Ben-Hadad only asked one question. He wants to know one thing. Will he recover? Now watch verse 9, "So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him." I don't really know how much you can pack on a camel.

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• I'm sure it's pretty hefty. So this is probably almost a semi-truckload of goods, or a half a truckload of goods, that are being brought just so Elisha can answer this question whether Ben-Hadad will recover. Now watch. Verse 10, "And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover. Howbeit the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die." Now look, if you would, at verse 11. Look at verse 11, 2 Kings chapter 8.

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• He said, "And he settled his countenance steadfastly, until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept. And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do to the children of Israel. Their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with a sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. And Hazael said, But what is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, and said unto him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, he told me that thou shouldst surely recover."

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• And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water, and spread it upon his face, so that he died, Ben-Hadad, and Hazael reigned in his stead." Now, notice if you would, in Jonah chapter 4, Jonah is exceedingly angry because God has spared the Assyrians. And the reason being, he knew exactly what the Assyrians were going to do to Israel. Just like now, Elisha, he knows what Ben-Hadad is going to do to his people as well. And the Bible says that Elisha settled his countenance steadfastly until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept.

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• Hazael said, why in the world are you weeping? Why, he said, I know what you're going to do to the children of Israel. You're going to rip up their women with child. You're going to slay their young men. And Hazael said, but what is thy servant a dog that he should do this great thing? By the way, that is exactly what Hazael did. He went, and of course, and murdered Ben-Hadad the king, and reigned in his stead, and he did exactly that which Elisha said he was going to do. So Jonah knew that the Assyrians then were going to be attacking Israel. I've told you about the book of Nahum, and the book of Habakkuk, how they also dealt with the Assyrians and Babylonians as well. But I'm just simply pointing out, they knew exactly what is happening. So Jonah now, in Jonah chapter 4, is exceedingly angry. So I want you to go back to Jonah chapter 4, and look at it if you would, please. Book of Jonah chapter 4.

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• Notice if you would, at verses 3 and 4. In fact, let's read verses 1 and 2. He said, "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish, for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take I beseech thee my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." Then saith the Lord, "Doest thou well to be angry?" When you look at verse 2, and you remember I told you in Jonah chapter 1, Jonah was running from God. In Jonah chapter 2, he's running back to God. But in verse 2, here is what Jonah is basically saying, Lord, I knew you were a merciful God. I knew you'd have mercy upon those people. I knew you would spare them.

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• And Lord, I did not want to see them spared. I wanted to see them destroyed. And therefore, I fled to Tarshish. I knew exactly what you were going to do. Your mercy is exceedingly great. And you are just as kind and gracious as you can be. And I did not desire their repentance. So God asked him, "Doest thou well to be angry?" And notice if you would, Jonah wants to die because God blessed his preaching. This is what he said in verse 3, "Therefore now, O Lord, take I beseech Thee my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." Now, you remember back in chapter 2, Jonah wanted others to kill him because he told them, throw me in the water. He wanted to die.

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• And he thought that would be the end of it. Now, he's not willing to do anything, but he's asking God to take his life.

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• Now, so in Jonah chapter 3, God renews the commission after Jonah repents and God sends him back to Nineveh with the message, "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown." So here's my question. Why did God send Jonah? Jonah said, God, I know that you are going to have mercy upon these people. I knew you were going to spare them. I knew that. That's why I fled. But now God subdued Jonah in the belly of that whale. God prepared that fish especially for Jonah. And when God had that whale spit Jonah out, Jonah was willing to obey, and he went and did exactly what God said. So, why did Jonah have to preach? He said, I knew God was going to be merciful. Why did God send him?

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• Well, let me answer that with this. God has not only ordained the end, He has also ordained the means to the end. So God has not only ordained that which is the end over here, but everything that goes to that end as well. So I want you to turn to two passages in the New Testament. The first one is 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and the second one is Romans chapter 10. So if you will turn there, holding Jonah chapter 4, and if you'll look first of all to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Look if you would what the Apostle Paul writes, and let's begin reading there with verse 20.

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• The scripture asks, "Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" Now watch carefully, "For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." What was the means of achieving salvation? Preaching.

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• Now, let me show you. If you will turn back a few pages to the book of Romans chapter 10. And let's begin there with verse 13, Romans 10, verse 13. Here's a verse that most people can quote, but we usually take it out of context. Romans 10, verse 13. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Wow. Well, that's good. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." But I want you to look at verse 14. "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?" What precedes calling?

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• The answer is faith, belief. Calling does not save you. Calling just demonstrates the faith that God has given you. You're not going to call on someone in whom you do not believe. You're not. Now watch it. He said in verse 13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Now watch verse 14. "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?" OK, you must believe before you call. Now watch this. "And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" Now, hang on.

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• If I tell you about my youngest daughter, you are hearing about her. But if she is in this room speaking, you hear her, right? So I want you to notice, if you would, verse 14. "How then shall they call on him whom they have not believed?" You must believe before you call. "And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" Not heard about, but heard.

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• What did Jesus Christ say in John chapter 10? "I know my sheep, and I call them by name, and they follow me." It's just like when Mary went to the tomb. She turned about and she saw our Lord, and she supposed Him to be the gardener. And she said, "Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me, and I'll take him away." And all He said was, "Mary."

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• And she said, "Rabboni, Master." She instantly knew Him when He called her name. Now watch this. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Yes. "How then shall they call on Him whom they have not believed?" You must believe in order to call. "Now shall they believe in whom they have not heard?" You must hear Christ in order to believe. And then he said, "How shall they hear without a preacher?"

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• And how shall they preach except they be sent? So God then sends his preachers to preach his word, and he speaks to his people through the preaching and teaching of the word of God. So, obviously, clearly, yes, it was necessary for Jonah to go and preach in Nineveh. God sent him. God told him he needed to go. Now, here's the truth. Listen to this. And I can show you this in the Bible. Whenever God is going to have compassion upon a people, He always sends them a preacher. Whenever God is going to judge a people, He always removes the preacher, or at least silences the preacher. When you stop and think about what is going on in our country today, and especially in Christendom today, you think of the churches that cannot find a pastor. Every week, I see churches asking for and begging for preachers from all over this country. There is an email that I get and every week they have churches asking for pastors. And I don't doubt that some of those churches probably ran some of their pastors off.

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• And the truth of the matter is, most churches really and truly do not want a real preacher. What they want is an administrator, or an orator, or an entertainer. They don't want someone who's actually going to teach the Word of God. And people get upset with that.

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• Now let me show you something very interesting. I want you to hold Jonah chapter 4, but I want you to go back in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Judges chapter 6. Judges chapter 6. This is an astounding passage. I want to read it just to show you the absolute devastation that was happening in the land by the Midianites and the Amalekites. So look in Judges chapter 6 and look beginning there with verse 1.

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• "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. And because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens, which are in the mountains, and caves and strongholds." In other words, they were driven out of the cities, they were driven out of their homes. So they're living in the mountains and the caves. Now watch verse 3. "And so it was when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them. And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came up as grasshoppers for a multitude."

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• Look now, "for both they and their camels were without number, and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord." Now look at this. Look at the devastation in verses 1 through 5. Now Israel is crying to the Lord because of all the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the destruction of the land. Verse 7, "And it came to pass that the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites." Look at verse 8. "That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up out of Egypt, and I brought you forth out of the house of bondage."

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• "And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land. And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God. Fear not the gods of the Amorites, whose land you dwell, but you have not obeyed my voice." And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak, which was in Ophrah.

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• That then talks about Joash. This is on Gideon when he's called there. But watch. He said, "I am the Lord your God. Fear not the gods." I told you that. But note if you would, please, go back. Notice if you would, verse 7. "And it came to pass when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites, the Lord sent a prophet." What? Why didn't God send a warrior? Why didn't God send a captain? Why didn't God send a great military leader? He didn't. He sent a preacher. And if you read on, God is saying this, I'm not even going to deliver you unless you repent and come back to Me. And if you're not going to repent, you call on those gods that you've chosen and let them deliver you. So, if God is going to have compassion upon a people, God always sends a preacher.

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• Now, if you will turn right over, to 2nd Chronicles, 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, and look in chapter 36. Watch this. And verse 15. 2nd Chronicles 36 and verse 15. Here it is in black and white. "And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, that would be the prophets, rising up betimes and sending. Why? Because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place." So God sent his preachers, why? Because he had compassion. Now look what happened in verse 16. "But they, that is the people, mocked the messengers of God, indeed the preachers, and despised his words, that's singular, that's God's words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against the people, till there was no remedy." So when God has compassion on people, He sends them His preachers. When God judges a people, He removes His preachers.

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• You remember how Elijah was in a foreign land, away from Israel for three years. There was a drought for three years. What did he say to Ahab? "As the Lord God liveth, for whom I stand, there shall not be rain nor dew these years, but according to my word." And the drought in that time was just nothing more than a physical symbol of a spiritual reality because the man of God had been taken out of the land. And so for three years, they had no word from God. Now, when it came to Jeremiah, God left him in the land, but God shut his mouth. When you get to Jeremiah chapter 7, God said to Jeremiah, "Pray not for this people." Jeremiah wanted to pray for them. Jeremiah chapter 11, God says, "Pray not for this people." When you get to Jeremiah chapter 14, God said, "All right, Jeremiah, you want to pray for them, I'm going to let you pray for them. But here's what you pray. You pray that I'll destroy them for that's exactly what I'm going to do."

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• So God took Elijah out of the land, but God left Jeremiah in the land, but he just shut his mouth. He said, no, I'm not going to allow you to pray for these people. No.

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• Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Amos, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Notice if you would, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. And look in Amos chapter 8, if you would. And let's begin reading there verse 11. Look what God says. We're talking about when God has compassion upon a people, He sends them a preacher. When God judges a people, He either removes the preacher or shuts them out. Amos chapter 8, verse 11, God says, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land. Not a famine of bread, not a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea and from the north, even to the east, and they shall run to and fro and seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it." So God said there will be a famine. A famine of hearing the word of God. Now, I want you to turn back in light of this to the book of Jonah chapter 4 because we're talking about the displeased prophet because Jonah is so upset with God because God has spared the Assyrians.

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• Now, I don't know if you've picked out the theme of the book of Jonah, but I'm going to give it to you and you will find this over and over. In Jonah chapter 1 and verse 4, God sent out or God prepared a great wind. In Jonah 1 and verse 17, the Bible says God prepared a great fish. In Jonah 4 and verse 6, God prepared a gourd. In Jonah 4 and verse 7, God prepared a worm. And in Jonah chapter 4 and verse 8, God prepared a vehement east wind. So in this brief book, you can see God's absolute sovereignty, not only His sovereignty in dealing with Jonah, but also His sovereignty in dealing with people in general, especially nations. So, I want you to look in Jonah chapter 4, and let's begin reading there with verse 4. Look at this.

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• "Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?" So he's really angry. "And Jonah went out of the city and set on the east side of the city and there made him a booth and sat under it in the shadow and shade till he might see what would become of the city. Now watch this. And the Lord God prepared a gourd and made it come up over Jonah that it might be a shadow or shade over his head to deliver him from his grief." It's astounding how merciful God is. Jonah didn't deserve the gourd, but God sent it to spare him from his grief, deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceedingly glad for the gourd. But watch verse 7. "But God prepared a worm when the morning rose, and the next day it smote the gourd that it withered." Ah, now watch verse 9. "And it came to pass, when the sun did rise, that God prepared a vehement east wind, and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, till he fainted, and he wished himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live."

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• Now, Jonah still wanted to see the destruction of Nineveh. So he goes out on the east side, and he builds him a little brush harbor, probably made of sticks and leaves and branches, anything that would basically shield himself from the sun. And he's sitting there just hoping that somehow, some way, God's going to change his purpose. And instead of sparing the Assyrians, God is going to end up killing those Assyrians as well. Now, you've got to remember Nineveh was a city of three days journey. And so Jonah started on one end and went to the other, preaching. He had 40 days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So undoubtedly he's tired, walking three days straight, preaching. And now he's under this little booth, and he's waiting there to see what God is going to actually do to Nineveh. And so God then causes this gourd to grow, which has big, broad leaves, which shades him and cools him down immensely. I don't know if you've ever noticed this or not.

  #51 | 36:40 to 37:49 | cleaned

• I notice it frequently because I have a creek, swampy area on our land, and it can be 97 degrees on the hill, and you can go down under all those shade trees around that little water, and it'll be 80 something. It's a remarkable difference. And so God has created this gourd, and it shades him and cools him, and he's really thankful for that. But then the next morning, God prepares this worm, and the worm just eats the root of the gourd, and the gourd dies.

  #52 | 37:51 to 38:27 | cleaned

• Now, if you don't think that can happen that quickly, you let a tomato worm get into your tomato plants. Or you let any kind of worm underground get a hold of the root of your plant, and it's going to die almost the same day. And so, Jonah now has lost the gourd. And look at the question. Look at what God asked. He asked Jonah in verse 9. "And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?" Wow! And look at Jonah's answer. "And he said, I do well to be angry even unto death." Am I so? You know, Jonah appears to be the kind of child that you'd really love to slap. And when I say that, I mean slap some sense into him. How can you be so absolutely stupid, you know? My soul, look at this.

  #53 | 38:28 to 39:31 | cleaned

• He has an attitude that it's the height of unthankfulness, the height of ungratefulness, and the height of just pure sorriness and a rebellious attitude. Jonah's upset and Jonah's angry over this gourd and the fact that the worm ate the gourd. And he believes now that he has an absolute right to be angry even unto death. Wow! I know some people like that. I know even a few preachers like that. It's insane.

  #54 | 39:33 to 40:13 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to watch this because we're going to make the applications. Look at verses 10 and 11. "Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, which thou hast not labored, neither made it sit to grow, which came up in a night, and perished in a night. And shouldest 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?" Now Jonah had a concern for that gourd. He didn't plant it. He didn't water it. He didn't fertilize it.

  #55 | 40:13 to 40:59 | cleaned

• It was something that was exceedingly temporary. Let me show you what he was concerned about. It was not just a concern for the gourd. It was a concern for his own comfort, his own pleasure. He had no concern for the inhabitants of Nineveh, but he did have concern for his own comfort. He had no concern for the animals of Nineveh. And if you'll notice what God said in verse 11, and I pointed out in the first message, that Nineveh was the greatest city at that era, in that era of time.

  #56 | 41:01 to 41:54 | cleaned

• It was greater than Babylon. And I gave you some of the stats concerning Nineveh in the very first message. But when you consider He has now, He mentions in this verse 120,000 persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand. So we're talking about 120,000 babies, 120,000 little children. Now if you've got 120,000 little children, you know they've got brothers and sisters. And you know they've got mamas and daddies, and you know they've got aunts and uncles. And so there's probably over a million people in Nineveh.

  #57 | 41:54 to 42:32 | cleaned

• And Jonah's not concerned over any of these, nor even the animals. He's just concerned over this stupid gourd. Wow. Let me ask you a question. Have you realized that God is pointing out the crooks, not only of the matter with Jonah, but the crooks of the matter with each of us? We're more concerned with our comfort and our desires and our wills and our wants more than anything else. Years ago, I was preaching in Indiana, and Alice and I were staying with a couple while I was preaching that week, and this couple had just returned from Russia.

  #58 | 42:36 to 43:30 | cleaned

• They went on a little mission trip, and he brought back pictures. And he showed us pictures of a Russian baptism because there they had axes and ice picks breaking the ice in the river so they could baptize these new converts. Now you show me a professing Christian today who's willing to get into a freezing river just to be baptized. Most people won't walk across the street to go to church.

  #59 | 43:31 to 44:04 | cleaned

• And the fact is, most churches are air conditioned. We've got cushioned seats and all that. Why? Do you realize in some of these countries, people have to start congregating a day or two days prior to the church meeting, and they have to walk individually or no more than one or two or three or four at the most. Because it's illegal for them to have the church, and yet they go to a secret place. Wow!

  #60 | 44:05 to 44:38 | cleaned

• I want to show you. This is indeed where we are today. I want you to turn back in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Amos. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Back to Amos. Look, if you would, in Amos chapter 6. God is pointing this out. Amos chapter 6, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Look in chapter 6, beginning there with verse 1. Watch this. This is a picture of today. God says, "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and that trust in the mountain of Samaria." That'd be the government. Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom.

  #61 | 44:40 to 45:20 | cleaned

• Mountains refer to nations and governments. He said, "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came. Pass ye into Calneh, and see, and from this go ye to Hamath the great. Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Be they better than these kingdoms, or their border greater than your border?" Now watch this.

  #62 | 45:21 to 45:44 | cleaned

• "You that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near, watch this, they lie upon beds of ivory, and they stretch themselves upon their couches, and they eat the lambs out of the flock, that is the best and the tenderest, and the calves out of the midst of the stalls, that chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music like David, that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments. Watch it, but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." What's he saying?

  #63 | 45:45 to 46:24 | cleaned

• You take care of yourself. You want the best for yourself, but you're not concerned about the afflictions of Joseph. If you will turn back just a few pages to the book of Hosea, look at Hosea, chapter four and verse 13. Hosea, chapter four, verse 13. Look at this. In fact, we'll read verse 12. He says, "My people ask counsel at their stocks, that is, idols, and their staff declares unto them, for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they go a whoring from under their God."

  #64 | 46:24 to 47:07 | cleaned

• Now look, "they sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains and burn incense upon the hills under oaks and poplars and elms. Why? Because the shadow thereof is good." In other words, they want comfort. They'd rather be comfortable in their idolatry. Wow! This is exactly what God is pointing out to Jonah. You're more concerned about your personal comforts than you are the people or the animals that happen to be in Nineveh. Now, here's another truth that we have to learn from Jonah chapter 4.

  #65 | 47:08 to 47:50 | cleaned

• This is very disconcerting to some folks. But it's still the absolute truth. And that is this, that preachers do not get to choose the type of ministry that they prefer or that they desire. God is the one that ordains their ministry for them. Now, hang on. There is a ministry of reconciliation and there is a ministry of condemnation. Jonah was given a ministry of reconciliation, but he really wanted a ministry of condemnation. Isaiah and Jeremiah were given a ministry of condemnation, but they really wanted a ministry of reconciliation. What about Noah? Do you realize that Noah preached 120 years and never had one convert?

  #66 | 47:50 to 48:54 | cleaned

• And the Bible says in 2 Peter 2 verse 5 that he was a preacher of righteousness. Let me show you. If you will turn back in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 1. Let me just show you very quickly that God has given Jeremiah a ministry of condemnation. Jeremiah chapter 1. Notice if you would, verse 10. Look at what God says. Jeremiah 1, verse 10. God says, "See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, and to build and to plant."

  #67 | 48:55 to 49:38 | cleaned

• He had to do three times as much destruction as He did building and planting. Now skip down to verse 15. Look at this. "For lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the earth, saith the Lord, and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering into the gates of Jerusalem, that is, all these heathen are going to conquer Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about,"

  #68 | 49:39 to 50:03 | cleaned

• "and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them, touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worship the works of their own hands."

  #69 | 50:04 to 50:15 | cleaned

• "Now therefore, gird up thy loins and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee. Be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and a brazen wall against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, against the people thereof. And they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee. For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee."

  #70 | 50:16 to 50:44 | cleaned

• What's he saying to Jeremiah? Nobody's going to listen to you. I'm going to end up destroying them. And when you get to Jeremiah chapter 9 in verse 1, Jeremiah says, "Oh, I wish that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." He said, I want to weep all the time.

  #71 | 50:45 to 51:09 | cleaned

• He was a man full of compassion. He's known as the weeping prophet. And yet God gave him a ministry of condemnation, not a ministry of reconciliation. If you'll turn right on back to Isaiah chapter 6, just back a few pages, Isaiah chapter 6, and look if you would please, beginning there with verse 8. This is where God calls Isaiah into the ministry. Isaiah chapter 6, look in verse 8.

  #72 | 51:10 to 51:38 | cleaned

• "Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go and tell this people, and hear ye indeed, but understand not, and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert and be healed."

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• God said, I want you to go. These people are not going to listen to you. They're not going to see. They're not going to hear. They're not going to understand.

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• Now, Isaiah finally answered this question in verse 11. "Then said I, Lord, how long?" That is, how long do I have to go to these people? "And he answered, until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate." In other words, I'm not going to let him hear you. You're going to have a ministry of condemnation. Isaiah wanted a ministry of reconciliation, so did Jeremiah, but they didn't have it.

  #75 | 52:14 to 52:41 | cleaned

• Now, God does not give every preacher a ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He does not give every preacher a ministry of George Whitefield. He doesn't give everybody a ministry of the Apostle Paul. No. He gives some a ministry of condemnation and others a ministry of reconciliation.

  #76 | 52:42 to 53:04 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and look in chapter 2. And I'm going to show you in this chapter the ministry of reconciliation and the ministry of condemnation. So here it is. Look at this. 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 14. The Apostle Paul says, "Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place." Now look what he says in verse 15. "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish."

  #77 | 53:04 to 53:51 | cleaned

• Now, the sweet savour refers to the incense and to the smoke that came up out of those offerings in the Old Testament. So he says, "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish. To the one we are the savour of death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life, and who is sufficient for these things." So here it is. Let me explain this. Let's suppose there happens to be in this room today 100 lost men and women, none saved. And I preach as hard as I can, and God blesses the Word, and the Holy Spirit works in their hearts, and let's just say all 100 are regenerated and converted by God.

  #78 | 53:52 to 54:48 | cleaned

• and they're all praising the Lord. You know what God does? Here's what God does. My son is preached, and I'm satisfied. If we take that same 100 unsaved men and women, and I preach as hard as I can, and I preach Jesus Christ, and every one of them raises their fists and clenches their teeth and says, we'll not have this man to reign over us. And they try to run me off and run me out of town. You know what God says? My son is preached. And I'm satisfied. One would be a ministry of reconciliation. The other, a ministry of condemnation. That's what He said.

  #79 | 54:50 to 55:37 | cleaned

• We're the savour of life unto life and death unto death. And who's sufficient for these? Only God. Only God.

  #80 | 55:38 to 55:44 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to understand this. It is faithfulness that counts, not greatness. Noah was faithful for 120 years and never had one convert. And God put him on the heroes of faith. Isaiah and Jeremiah, they're the heroes of faith. They never had any converts. It's faithfulness that counts. There are preachers that you and I have never heard of. There are Christians that you and I have never heard of and probably never will hear of that have led faithful, consistent, godly, Christian lives. And God counts them as successful.

  #81 | 55:45 to 56:34 | cleaned

• Success is not in numbers. Success is not in numbers. Success is not in greatness. Success is in faithfulness. We may be small, we may be insignificant, but what counts is faithfulness. Our Lord, moreover, demanded that a steward be found faithful. And that's true, 1 Corinthians chapter 4. God demands faithfulness. Now, I want you to note what God said. I want you to go back in your Bibles, or at least turn in your Bibles, please, to Psalm 104. Because God said to Jonah, God said to Jonah, there's 120,000 babies in that city that can't discern between their left hand and their right hand. Yes, there were undoubtedly plenty of sinners in that great city, but there were also children. There were also animals. And God said, and all the cattle. You know, here's an astounding thing for me, that God is concerned about animals. He's not only concerned about humans. He's concerned about animals as well.

  #82 | 56:36 to 58:04 | cleaned

• Stop and think about this. Animals are just as much God's creation as we are. And God takes care of animals. God feeds them. God protects and provides for their needs as well. So, look in Psalm 104, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Psalm 104, verse 10. "He sent the springs into the valleys which run among the hills. Why? They give drink to every beast of the field."

  #83 | 58:04 to 58:32 | cleaned

• "The wild asses quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. He waters the hills from his chambers. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth. And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengthens man's heart."

  #84 | 58:32 to 59:01 | cleaned

• "The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted. Where the birds make their nests is for the stork, the fir trees are her house. The high hills are refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies. He appointed the moon for seasons, the sun knoweth his going down. Thou makest darkness, and it is night wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth."

  #85 | 59:02 to 59:26 | cleaned

• Look at this, "the young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together and lay them down in their dens. Man goeth forth into his work and to his labor until the evening." Then he says, "O Lord, how manifold are thy works and wisdom! Thou hast made them all. The earth is full of thy riches. Praise the Lord." Listen to me. No animal deserves to be abused, mistreated, starved, beaten, or destroyed any more than any man or woman deserves to be beaten and mistreated and abused and starved and destroyed. Wow! God takes care of the animals as well. Listen to me.

  #86 | 59:26 to 1:00:12 | cleaned

• Let me say it like this. When we treat God's creation with contempt, we treat God with contempt. When we disrespect God's creation, we disrespect God. There are three reasons in the Bible why the lives of animals may be taken. We may take an animal's life for food. God has given animals to us to eat. There's no problem with that. We may take the lives of animals in self-defense.

  #87 | 1:00:12 to 1:00:48 | cleaned

• I know men who were attacked by deer, a buck. In fact, one man was killed in Texas by a buck. I've known several people who were attacked by animals. When you are attacked, yes, you may defend yourself. God gives animals to us for food. God gives us the right of self-defense. And thirdly, of course, and that is if they're hindering dominion. If rabbits are eating up my garden, I might shoot the rabbits because I want my garden.

  #88 | 1:00:51 to 1:01:23 | cleaned

• Now, I'm not going to just let the rabbits lie. I don't eat them, but I will give them somebody who does eat them. So that's the point being, here are three reasons why animal life can be taken based upon God's terms. Because if those animals were hindering dominion, then they may be rightly destroyed. I want you to notice this. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 22, and look, if you would please, at verses 6 and 7.

  #89 | 1:01:23 to 1:01:50 | cleaned

• This is an astounding thing. Deuteronomy 22, verses 6 and 7. There are three reasons in the Bible where God promises long life. One of them, of course, you know, and that's obedience to parents. "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, honor thy father and thy mother, that your days may be long upon the earth." Okay? Right. Sure. And whether you know it or not, another reason that God promises long life is in relationship to money, whether we're honest or not. But here's another reason. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 22 at verses 6 and 7, the Bible says, "If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way, in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones or eggs, or the dam, the female sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young. But thou shalt anywise let the dam go, and take the young to thee, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days." Did you see that?

  #90 | 1:01:50 to 1:02:56 | cleaned

• Why would you let the dam go? Because if you take the dam, the young are going to die as well. God says, no, if you're going to eat them, you take the young, you let the female, you let the mama go. She can have more babies, that's no problem. But notice even with the latter part, "that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest prolong thy days." In other words, God promises long life based upon how we treat animals, how we are honest with our money, and how we honor our fathers and our mothers. Those are the three promises for long life in the Bible. So God says to Jonah, No, Jonah, you're concerned more about your comfort than you are the people of Assyria. Now, let me just show you what we're to learn from the book of Jonah.

  #91 | 1:02:56 to 1:03:41 | cleaned

• I've got seven things down, OK? Recapping the other three messages as well as this one. First of all, the Word of God teaches us that we cannot run from God. And I explained what that meant in Jonah chapter 1. The second one is this. God knows exactly what it's going to take to break us and bring us in submission and obedience. Like I said earlier, when God got through with Jonah, he might have smelled a lot like fish, but he felt a whole lot more like preaching. God knew exactly what it would take to break Jonah. He knows exactly what it will take to break us. The third one is this. God desires repentance and faith. And God certainly gives second opportunities. The fourth one is this, we should be more concerned about God's will than our will and our comforts. The fifth one is this, it is God who determines our ministry.

  #92 | 1:03:41 to 1:04:42 | cleaned

• And number six, we must learn to honor His creation and not abuse it and not misuse it. Number seven, it does us no good to be angry with God. We should be angry with ourselves and our sin, but we should never, ever find fault with God. For God doeth all things well. And whatever God does, He does for our good and for His glory. And we have to honor Him and submit to Him.

  #93 | 1:04:43 to 1:05:18 | cleaned

• There's so much in the book of Jonah. And there's so much for you and I to learn and apply to our lives. Lord willing, next week I want to bring a message that I think will probably startle you and it'll bring you more information on Assyria. It may really surprise you. Although it's not dealing in the book of Jonah, it will surprise you. Well, let's pray. Father, thank You again for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the truth. Lord, help us to learn. Help us, Lord, to be students of Thy Word and apply Thy Word to our lives. And help us not, Lord, to commit the same sins and errors that others have committed which, Lord, You reveal for our benefit that we might not be critical and angry with Thee. Lord, our God of love, is love. And Lord, we love Thee today and we submit to Thee. We ask, Lord, that You would teach us and build us up in the most holy faith. In Thy name we pray.

  #94 | 1:05:20 to 1:06:29 | cleaned

• Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T03:52:03Z