THE RELUCTANT EVANGELIST |
The World, the Word & You!
Broadcast
Commentary by Dennis L. Finnan
“WHO KNOWS THE MIND AND HEART OF GOD? CAN
ANYONE TELL US, HOW GREAT IS GOD’S LOVE AND MERCY FOR US? THE ANSWER IS A
RESOUNDING YES! BACK IN THE PAGES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT THERE IS A RELUCTANT
EVANGELIST WHOSE STORY NEEDS TO AGAIN BE TOLD.”
I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about the sad and shameful story of the very first evangelist to the Gentiles…
…The other day I received a tragic call and plea from a distant pastor. He asked me if I would go down to our local area hospital and visit with a family who had a dying member in the ICU there. He told me the family had no religious affiliation, nor were they at all interested in such things, but at this time they desperately needed hope and encouragement. Honestly, my first response was, in my heart and mind was, “I’m so busy at the moment and haven’t any spare time for this additional duty!” But then the part of me God energized to be a shepherd of God’s people instantly dropped what I was doing and prepared to go there and be of as much help as I could. To make this story short, the family was surprised I a pastor appeared, but was so grateful. I prayed with the family, read pertinent Scriptures, shared the gospel very simply and tactfully and trusted God would care for them from there. It was a very rewarding time, and they were so moved by the fact that someone, they didn’t know, came to comfort and encourage them. I still pray for that family from that day that God would break through the hardness of their hearts to Him. Yet, as I paused to consider how busy I was when I first got the call, and my initial thought response, I was reminded by the Lord of yet another reluctant servant of God. It is the story of the prophet Jonah. So after another moment of music, I’ll tell you all about this reluctant evangelist and the emergency call he received but failed to heed. Stay tuned…
…You know as I plump the pages of Scripture, I can’t think of another story that equals the shameful conduct of one of God’s called evangelists and prophets than Jonah. The story is taken from the Book of Jonah in the Old Testament where we find a merciless and miserable man of God named Jonah. Jonah we are told was a man who committed a most serious sin. He became a derelict prophet and evangelist. Of course Jonah’s story is well known. Everyone has heard of Jonah and the whale. But what is not known is what went through the mind and heart of Jonah, and more importantly the mind and heart of God. We can learn many important lessons from this, and we shall as we explore this sin of his dereliction of duty, and flight of this reluctant evangelist to obey God’s orders for him. To begin we read in the Bible…
Jonah 1:1-2 (NIV) “The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.””
Jonah was a Jewish prophet/evangelist called by God to minister on His behalf. Jonah we learn became an intense patriot of Israel. His eyes, his heart and his zeal were for his people alone. But one day God interrupted his happy ministry to his own people, and told him to leave them and travel to the infamous city of the Gentiles, called Nineveh. Now upon hearing this call of God, Jonah’s mind just about short-circuited. You see the city of Nineveh was populated exclusively by Gentiles and people who actually hated and abused the Jews whenever they could. They were godless, fierce, heartless, where such action became legendry for these Gentile Assyrians. In fact, graphic accounts of unbelievable cruelty, murder, torture, pillage and abuse have been found in ancient Assyrian records that certainly justified Jonah’s fright at the inference that he should go to them in the name of God. Yet Jonah was God’s called and ordained prophet, and now an evangelistic duty was thrust upon him. Well, you can imagine what Jonah’s response to God’s call was…
Jonah 1:3 (NIV) “But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.”
Now Jonah’s sin is indeed horrific. It is similar to a doctor refusing to go and minister to a dying man, or a citizen of a nation refusing to heed the call to war to defend his country from enemy attack. And, it is the same horrific crime of a Christian today who refuses God’s call to go and seek the lost with an effort to win them to Christ. Yet Jonah’s response is understandable in light of his fear and narrow religious thinking. You see Jonah had a myopic vision of God’s love and mercy. He thought it was only for his people Israel. Since the Gentiles were cruel, godless people, he came to hate them and thought God did too. Yet the story of God’s call to Jonah to go to the Gentles as the first evangelist in biblical history, shows us how much God loves this world of lost sinners. Jonah not only refused to obey God, but he then tried to run away! Yet Jonah soon discovered, that no one could flee the presence of the Lord. Yes, no distance is too great, no sea to wide enough, no transportation fast enough, no day long enough and no night dark enough to flee the all seeing eye, heart, and presence of our Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent Creator God who loves lost sinners.
Now I’ll not go into the story of God’s catching up with Jonah and sending the huge giant whale to swallow him. That in itself is a miracle one can deny, but cannot prove false. I believe with all my heart that a great fish or whale indeed swallowed Jonah, and that he indeed was in the belly of it for three days and nights and then vomited up alive on the land. That is a miracle, but then we must remember God is in the miracle business! You know, He created the heavens and the earth out of nothing. He formed all living creatures and made the highest of all, mankind. If you can’t believe this simple miracle of preservation or resurrection, I believe it is the latter ¾ how big and great can be your god? Well let’s listen to the story as God writes it,
Jonah 2:10 (NIV) “And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”
Jonah 3:1-4 (NIV) “Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city—a visit required three days. 4 On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.””
The reluctant evangelist now having experienced his own “resurrection and “revival,” was now ready to obey the Lord’s call, even to go where he didn’t want to go, and do what he didn’t want to do. Although Jonah’s miraculous preservation of life from the sea was a miracle in itself, the greater miracle was yet to come. It was the repentance and revival of these godless, cruel, merciless, and wicked Gentile Assyrians who lived in the city of Nineveh. Now Nineveh in Jonah’s day (782-753 B.C) was a huge bustling city, we read in,
Jonah 3:3 (NIV) “… Now Nineveh was a very important city—a visit required three days.”
Jonah 4:11 (NIV) “But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well…”
Scholars believe this expression 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their lift refers strictly to the infants and toddlers there. If this is correct, then it is probable that the population of Gentiles inhabiting the city was more than 600,000 people! Nineveh, according to secular records was a huge metropolis bustling with people. It was built by winning devastating wars, and was surrounded by great walls built to protect them. Yet it was a city without God, and as such God does not allow such manifested gathering of sinners to last for long. Did you know that? Well, hear the Word of God to every generation concerning this,
Psa 9:17 (NIV) “The wicked return to the grave, all the nations that forget God.”
Notice “all” nations that forget God will be turned into the grave. This is exactly what God decreed for these wicked, wanton, worthless, iniquitous, idolatrous and impious sinners. Again God said to Jonah his mission was to first ”warn” them of God’s wrath that had boiled up to the point of spilling over onto them and destroying and sending them all into the fires of Hell for all eternity! Yet, we also learn of the other side of God, for the Bible says,
Jonah 3:2 (NIV) “”Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”” Jonah 3:4 (NIV) “On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.””
You see, these Gentiles forgot God and in forgetting, they failed to realize they lived as tenants in God’s Universe, on God’s planet and in God’s presence. For this they had a debt, which they ignored for centuries, but God kept record and waited for them to do four things. What were they? Let’s look at Jonah’s message. First of all Jonah was sent to preach, JUDGMENT! Why? Well, the Bible tells us they forgot to fear the Lord. The Scripture says,
Prov 16:6 (NKJV) “… by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.”
Psa 111:10 (NIV) “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…”
Prov 1:7 (NIV) “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…”
Prov 19:23 (NIV) “The fear of the LORD leads to life…”
You see, these Gentiles forgot to fear, honor and love the God who created them. Were they guilty of this? For sure, for the Bible also says,
Rom 1:18-23 (NIV) “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”
Yes, all mankind in the beginning “knew” God. That means with the mind, heart and soul of our ancestors, they all knew enough about God to seek after Him, to worship Him and give Him the honor and glory He deserves as our Creator and God. But all mankind refused, beginning in the Garden of Eden and to this day humanity rejects every thought of God’s rulership, authority and right to rule our lives and have our love. For this, God’s wrath decreed the death penalty in the afterlife for all who are born sinners and under God’s judgment. The Bible warns us,
Ezek 18:4 (NIV) “For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.”
Rom 3:23 (NIV) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Rom 6:23 (NIV) “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Well into this wicked godless city Jonah enters and immediately although reluctantly, obeys God and preaches judgment and mercy to the masses. In essence he said, if all the people of the city will do four things, God would spare the city and their lives. What was the response to Jonah’s preaching? Let’s let God’s Word tell us,
Jonah 3:5-10 (NIV) “The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. 6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” 10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.”
Wow! Imagine that, the entire city responded positively to this reluctant evangelist’s message. Now interestingly enough we should note four things they did in response.
1. The Ninevites from the King to peasantS seriously listened to the preaching of Jonah. Yes, they didn’t consider Jonah a quack or crazy, but man with a serious message to consider. Why? Well they probably heard what happened to Jonah, (word gets around) and his own resurrection from the depths of the sea and now he came to them. You see, no one can be saved until they seriously listen to God’s Word for them and about them. Today it is the same, we Christians are to go to the lost around us and preach to them the Gospel. For God one day is going to judge this sinful world and destroy all sinners who have not repented. All of them will be cast into a Christless eternity, and a place of torment called Hell. Friend, have you seriously listened to this message from the Bible? The same God who was going to destroy Nineveh has also promised to destroy this world of ours, except for those who hear the gospel and respond. Thus, the second thing they did after they seriously heard God’s Word was,
2. THEY ALL BELIEVED IT! - It’s one thing to hear God’s Word Sunday after Sunday, but the question is have you believed it? One only believes it when they change the course of their lives to be in alignment with it. When you hear that God loves you, that He offers you salvation through the death of Jesus Christ, have you believed it? If so, what response did you make because of it? To make none, is to in essence, not believe and be lost forever. The Ninevites then,
3. THEY REPENTED OF THEIR SINS. - Now this doesn’t mean they had to first clean up
their lives. To repent in the Bible means to change your mind and thinking and
be ready to do an about face in everything that displeases God. Notice God
accepted their faith and response only when He saw, “Their works, that they turned from their evil ways” (Jonah 3:10). Today millions of people say they
believe in Christ, but go on living sinful, disobedient lives. If you claim to
be a believer in Christ, have you turned away from sin, or are you dabbling in
it? If so, the fact is you have not repented and not believed, and not truly
heard God’s call! In truth, you are lost and on you’re way to Hell. Now the
forth thing we find them doing in response to the message of salvation Jonah
preached was,
4. THEY SET THEIR HOPE IN THE PROMISES OF GOD
& HIS WORD – Listen again to
what they said, Jonah 3:9 (NIV) “Who knows? God may yet relent and with
compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”” It’s one thing to say you believe in God, His Word,
His Son Jesus Christ, but how have you believed? The simple and Biblical way is
to trust God’s Word explicitly. God said He would spare them “if” they
repented, and they followed their confession with FAITH! God expects us to
believe His Word. We must believe there is a HELL to come for all lost sinners
because God says so. We must believe there is a HEAVEN to come for all who
trust Christ in this life, for god says so. We must believe God will save
everyone who comes to Him and calls upon His Son Jesus Christ to save them.
Why? Because God says so and cannot lie, and all His promises are true.
Now as a result of this repentant faith, God spared Nineveh. Yes, His love for them was so great, He sent this reluctant evangelist who still was not happy they were spared. Why? Because Jonah feared they would just go back and attack and harm his people. You see Jonah didn’t understand what true Bible faith and salvation does to the one who comes to God in Christ.
When a person is truly saved, God gives them a brand new nature. A nature that hungers after, desires to obey and be like God Himself. True believers become changed individuals with changed lives. If a person says they are saved and have believed, and their lives never change for good and for God, they lie and are deceived. Once these Ninevite Gentiles were saved, they would no longer persecute Israel, nor attack them, but begin living godly lives. Now what did God say about all this?
Jonah 4:11 (NIV) “But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?””
God saw the children, the mothers, fathers, the single folks, the teenagers and old people. His mercy, kindness and love are so great, He wanted none of them to perish. Thus, the message of salvation given here shows us the same God loves even our lost godless world today.
When I think of how for even but a brief moment, I was too busy to go and minister to a dying man and his family, well I was for that moment no better than Jonah. Yet if we are honest, thousands of Christians in our churches today have heard God’s call to go and seek the lost, to share His love and message of salvation and hope, and we do not! It is we who should repent who know Christ and have been saved, and since His love has reached down and saved us, how dare we refuse, neglect or flee from His call for us to preach the gospel to the world and its lost. So my friend I preach it to you today. Do you know Jesus Christ? Have you heard the Good News, Jesus Christ died on a cross paying for the sins of the world, especially for yours? Have you heard that Jesus Christ was no mere man, but He was God come in human flesh, to live a perfect life, and to offer it up as payment for the sins of the world? Upon His resurrection to live He offers His perfect, sinless and righteous life to all who hear, who believe, who repent and trust His Word for their life and eternity. The message goes out even today,
John 3:16 (NIV) “”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 12:31-32 (NIV) “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”
Luke 12:5 (NIV) “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”
God loves you and wants to save us all from the fires of Hell coming, but we must hear, heed and respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So today I plead with you, if you have not responded in the way I’ve shared today, will you right now call upon the Lord Jesus Christ to save you? Will you take Him as your Lord God and Savior from your sins? Will you open your heart as those Ninevites long ago did? If so, God will like them spare you and grant you His eternal forgiveness and love. May God so bless these words for Jesus sake, Amen.
· Radio talk #1401
· Broadcast date: April 08, 2001
· Speaker: Dennis L. Finnan, Commentator
· Program: The World, the Word & You! Radio Broadcast
· Address: P.O. Box 40133 Grand Junction, CO 81504
The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures. A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request. These weekly radio commentaries are not exhaustive studies of any particular subject due to the time limit of broadcasting. Actual broadcasts can be heard in selected areas around the nation, as funding provides. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for over 22 years, and serves as General Director.
These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are actual radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of recent messages is available upon request also.
For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please write to our speaker, Dennis L. Finnan(dennis@wwy.org),or visit our webpage at http://www.wwy.org/