Jonah Notes
posted by matthew at 11:14 AM
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Jonah 4
We’ve talked a lot about Jonah’s greatest failures
He ran away from God
He put other people at risk
Tonight we’ll see his greatest failure: his priorities were mixed up
What were Jonah’s greatest strengths?
He didn’t do things half-heartedly, he went all out
He owned up to his mistakes, took responsibility
Tonight we’ll see his greatest strength: his honesty
Jonah’s honesty is his greatest strength, but it reveals his greatest weakness. Nowhere in this made more clear than in chapter 4.
First of all….we need to ask ourselves WHY there even is a chapter 4. God’s desire was for Jonah to preach to Nineveh. That was accomplished at the end of chapter 3. The reason the account goes on is because God cares as much about the worker as He does the work.
HONEST TO GOD- Jonah’s example of honest praying
Speak like you speak to a friend
Tell Him your TRUE emotions
Tell Him your TRUE thoughts
God responds to honesty
Lay it all on the line
Prayer is not CASUAL, but it is PERSONAL
WHAT IS YOUR TOP PRIORITY?
Material Possessions? (Mark 10:17-31)
Career Progress? (Luke 4;5-8, Luke 9:46-48)
Social Popularity (Jesus started off popular and lost it b/c of His mission)
Physical Pleasure/peace/comfort? (Jonah 4:5-9)
Lost People (Jonah 4:10-11)
HOW DO WE KNOW LOST PEOPLE ARE OUR TOP PRIORITY?
1. Are we seeing with God’s eyes? How do we see people? Are they in the way? Annoying? Rude? Weird? Or are they lost?
2. Are we walking with God’s feet? Are we going where we want to go or where God would lead us to go?
3. Are we touching with God’s hands? Are we reaching up to the popular and the beautiful or reaching down to the lowly and hurting?
4. Are we speaking with God’s voice? Or we attracting them to us or to God? Are we using God’s Word? Are we speaking God’s love?Are we loving with God’s heart? God’s heart is a heart for people. He loved them so much He died for them.
He ran away from God
He put other people at risk
Tonight we’ll see his greatest failure: his priorities were mixed up
What were Jonah’s greatest strengths?
He didn’t do things half-heartedly, he went all out
He owned up to his mistakes, took responsibility
Tonight we’ll see his greatest strength: his honesty
Jonah’s honesty is his greatest strength, but it reveals his greatest weakness. Nowhere in this made more clear than in chapter 4.
First of all….we need to ask ourselves WHY there even is a chapter 4. God’s desire was for Jonah to preach to Nineveh. That was accomplished at the end of chapter 3. The reason the account goes on is because God cares as much about the worker as He does the work.
HONEST TO GOD- Jonah’s example of honest praying
Speak like you speak to a friend
Tell Him your TRUE emotions
Tell Him your TRUE thoughts
God responds to honesty
Lay it all on the line
Prayer is not CASUAL, but it is PERSONAL
WHAT IS YOUR TOP PRIORITY?
Material Possessions? (Mark 10:17-31)
Career Progress? (Luke 4;5-8, Luke 9:46-48)
Social Popularity (Jesus started off popular and lost it b/c of His mission)
Physical Pleasure/peace/comfort? (Jonah 4:5-9)
Lost People (Jonah 4:10-11)
HOW DO WE KNOW LOST PEOPLE ARE OUR TOP PRIORITY?
1. Are we seeing with God’s eyes? How do we see people? Are they in the way? Annoying? Rude? Weird? Or are they lost?
2. Are we walking with God’s feet? Are we going where we want to go or where God would lead us to go?
3. Are we touching with God’s hands? Are we reaching up to the popular and the beautiful or reaching down to the lowly and hurting?
4. Are we speaking with God’s voice? Or we attracting them to us or to God? Are we using God’s Word? Are we speaking God’s love?Are we loving with God’s heart? God’s heart is a heart for people. He loved them so much He died for them.
posted by matthew at 11:06 AM
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Jonah 3
Review
Assyria was becoming more and more powerful
Jonah hated the Assyrians
Jonah was called to preach to their capital city
Jonah ran away to avoid this calling
Jonah was called again to Nineveh
What Makes A Good Message?
A good message has one MAIN idea (v. 4)
A good message comes from the WORD of God (v. 1-2)
A good message is RELEVANT to the crowd (v. 4)
A good message comes with a TESTIMONY (v. 1)
A good message provokes a DECISION (v. 5)
What Makes a Good Revival?
A good revival starts with FAITHFUL preaching (v. 4)
A good revival touches peoples MINDS (v. 5a)
A good revival stirs people to ACTION (v. 5b)
A good revival reaches SECULAR leadership (v. 6)
A good revival provokes the MERCY of God (v. 10)
What Breaks a Good Revival?
The takers outnumber the givers (Nahum 3:1)
The users outnumber the servers (Nahum 3:16)
The External overtakes the Internal (Nahum 3:4)
The Physical overtakes the Spiritual (Nahum 3:3, 8-10)
Fear overtakes admiration (Nahum 3:19)
*Nahum was written against Nineveh some years after Jonah
Assyria was becoming more and more powerful
Jonah hated the Assyrians
Jonah was called to preach to their capital city
Jonah ran away to avoid this calling
Jonah was called again to Nineveh
What Makes A Good Message?
A good message has one MAIN idea (v. 4)
A good message comes from the WORD of God (v. 1-2)
A good message is RELEVANT to the crowd (v. 4)
A good message comes with a TESTIMONY (v. 1)
A good message provokes a DECISION (v. 5)
What Makes a Good Revival?
A good revival starts with FAITHFUL preaching (v. 4)
A good revival touches peoples MINDS (v. 5a)
A good revival stirs people to ACTION (v. 5b)
A good revival reaches SECULAR leadership (v. 6)
A good revival provokes the MERCY of God (v. 10)
What Breaks a Good Revival?
The takers outnumber the givers (Nahum 3:1)
The users outnumber the servers (Nahum 3:16)
The External overtakes the Internal (Nahum 3:4)
The Physical overtakes the Spiritual (Nahum 3:3, 8-10)
Fear overtakes admiration (Nahum 3:19)
*Nahum was written against Nineveh some years after Jonah
posted by matthew at 11:02 AM
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Jonah 2
REVIEW
1. God calls Jonah to Nineveh
2. Jonah tries to run away B/C he hates Nineveh
3. God intervenes
4. Jonah thrown overboard
5. Jonah swallowed
NKJ or KJV ‘THEN’ (after 3 days/nights)….he finally prays
BUT FIRST, we can’t avoid 1:17
-The object of much ridicule
-Isn’t that unbelievable?
It’s not the only miracle (God intervening) in Jonah…1. The great wind (1:4)
2. The great fish (1:17)
3. The great vomit (2:10)
4. The great vine (4:6)
5. The great worm (4:7)
6. The great wind (4:8)
“The bible is laced with miracles. From the creation to the second coming, from Moses at the burning bush to Daniel in the lion’s den, from the virgin birth to the resurrection, miraculous happenings seem to fill the pages of Scripture. To the believer, these are a wonderful confirmation of the power and message of God, but to the unbeliever, miracles are a stumbling block- a proof that religion is just a bunch of fairy tales after all. In the world that he lives in, there is no divine intervention, no interruptions tot the normal order; there is only natural law. Fire consumes when it burns; lions eat whatever is available; pregnancy only happens when male sperm unite with female ova, and the dead stay dead. As far as they are concerned, the miracles of the Bible could no more be true than mother goose.” ~Geisler
A MIRACLE is a divine intervention or interruption of the regular course of events that produces a purposeful but unusual event that would not have occurred otherwise.
SIX REASONS JONAH IS ACTUAL HISTORY
1. Denial is the result of an anti-supernatural BIAS
2. Jonah is mentioned in the O.T. (2 Kings 14:25)
3. Jonah is mentioned in the N.T. (Matthew 12:38-42)
4. Mentioned by 2 prominent historians
5. Verified by archeology
6. Written as history (burden of proof)
Jonah waited too long to pray…even the crew prayed to God before him
SIX KEYS TO PRAYER
1. Prayer brings understanding (v. 8). When your prayer life is lively you’ll understand God, yourself, the world, and others better.
2. Prayer includes thanksgiving (v. 9). Prayer isn’t just asking. It is adoring, confessing, giving thanks, etc.
3. Prayer includes commitment (v. 9) Commit to change through prayer.
4. Pray Scripture (v. 3-5, 7, 9). Jonah’s prayer was just a bunch of Psalms thrown together. God loves to hear His Word come from our lips.
5. Be ready for ugly answers (v. 10). God may say no. He may say later. He may call us to do something extremely difficult.
6. Prayer stimulated hearing (3:1). Prayer helps your prayer life. Prayer helps your Bible study. It’s a frustrating principle at times, but the best way to help your prayer life is to pray.
1. God calls Jonah to Nineveh
2. Jonah tries to run away B/C he hates Nineveh
3. God intervenes
4. Jonah thrown overboard
5. Jonah swallowed
NKJ or KJV ‘THEN’ (after 3 days/nights)….he finally prays
BUT FIRST, we can’t avoid 1:17
-The object of much ridicule
-Isn’t that unbelievable?
It’s not the only miracle (God intervening) in Jonah…1. The great wind (1:4)
2. The great fish (1:17)
3. The great vomit (2:10)
4. The great vine (4:6)
5. The great worm (4:7)
6. The great wind (4:8)
“The bible is laced with miracles. From the creation to the second coming, from Moses at the burning bush to Daniel in the lion’s den, from the virgin birth to the resurrection, miraculous happenings seem to fill the pages of Scripture. To the believer, these are a wonderful confirmation of the power and message of God, but to the unbeliever, miracles are a stumbling block- a proof that religion is just a bunch of fairy tales after all. In the world that he lives in, there is no divine intervention, no interruptions tot the normal order; there is only natural law. Fire consumes when it burns; lions eat whatever is available; pregnancy only happens when male sperm unite with female ova, and the dead stay dead. As far as they are concerned, the miracles of the Bible could no more be true than mother goose.” ~Geisler
A MIRACLE is a divine intervention or interruption of the regular course of events that produces a purposeful but unusual event that would not have occurred otherwise.
SIX REASONS JONAH IS ACTUAL HISTORY
1. Denial is the result of an anti-supernatural BIAS
2. Jonah is mentioned in the O.T. (2 Kings 14:25)
3. Jonah is mentioned in the N.T. (Matthew 12:38-42)
4. Mentioned by 2 prominent historians
5. Verified by archeology
6. Written as history (burden of proof)
Jonah waited too long to pray…even the crew prayed to God before him
SIX KEYS TO PRAYER
1. Prayer brings understanding (v. 8). When your prayer life is lively you’ll understand God, yourself, the world, and others better.
2. Prayer includes thanksgiving (v. 9). Prayer isn’t just asking. It is adoring, confessing, giving thanks, etc.
3. Prayer includes commitment (v. 9) Commit to change through prayer.
4. Pray Scripture (v. 3-5, 7, 9). Jonah’s prayer was just a bunch of Psalms thrown together. God loves to hear His Word come from our lips.
5. Be ready for ugly answers (v. 10). God may say no. He may say later. He may call us to do something extremely difficult.
6. Prayer stimulated hearing (3:1). Prayer helps your prayer life. Prayer helps your Bible study. It’s a frustrating principle at times, but the best way to help your prayer life is to pray.
posted by matthew at 10:57 AM
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Jonah 1
JONAH AND THE GREAT PROBLEM
We Are Running From God
Bad REASONS (1:1-3a)
We are LAZY
We REFUSE to leave our comfort zone
We FEAR rejection
We fear DEATH
We don’t want our enemies to be SPARED (4:1-3)
Bad RECIPE (1:3b-7)
We make CHANGES
We COMPENSATE
We try to IGNORE Him
We practice SUPERSTITION
Bad RESULTS for Jonah (1:11-12, 15, 17)
We lose our WITNESS
We are placed in DANGER
We are SWALLOWED up
*God used the bad situation for good
Believing In God
He had KNOWLEDGE (1:9)
He was REVERENT (1:9)
He was INCONSISTENT (1:10)
Child Of God
CONTACTED by God (1:1)
PURSUED by God (1:4)
PROTECTED by God (1:17)
We Are Running From God
Bad REASONS (1:1-3a)
We are LAZY
We REFUSE to leave our comfort zone
We FEAR rejection
We fear DEATH
We don’t want our enemies to be SPARED (4:1-3)
Bad RECIPE (1:3b-7)
We make CHANGES
We COMPENSATE
We try to IGNORE Him
We practice SUPERSTITION
Bad RESULTS for Jonah (1:11-12, 15, 17)
We lose our WITNESS
We are placed in DANGER
We are SWALLOWED up
*God used the bad situation for good
Believing In God
He had KNOWLEDGE (1:9)
He was REVERENT (1:9)
He was INCONSISTENT (1:10)
Child Of God
CONTACTED by God (1:1)
PURSUED by God (1:4)
PROTECTED by God (1:17)
posted by matthew at 10:47 AM
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