“The God of Compassion”

“The God of Compassion” (Jonah 3:1–10)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, October 26, 2016

Jonah 3:1–10 (NIV) 
3 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 large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. 
6 When Jonah’s warning 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 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: 
“By the decree of the king and his nobles: 
Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals 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 relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. 

The three words that sum up the message of Jonah 3 are condemnation, repentance, and compassion.

1. God gives Jonah a message of condemnation. 

2. The people of Nineveh repent. 

3. God showed compassion to the repentant Ninevites. 

Main Idea: God had mercy on us, though we deserved condemnation; may we be his messengers of mercy to others who are in danger of condemnation.

“Grace Received, Grace Proclaimed”

“Grace Received, Grace Proclaimed” (Jonah 1:17–2:10)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, October 16, 2016
Jonah 1:17–2:10 (NIV) 
17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 
2 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said: 
“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. 
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, 
and you listened to my cry. 
3 You hurled me into the depths, 
into the very heart of the seas, 
and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers 
swept over me. 
4 I said, ‘I have been banished 
from your sight; 
yet I will look again 
toward your holy temple.’ 
5 The engulfing waters threatened me, 
the deep surrounded me; 
seaweed was wrapped around my head. 
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down; 
the earth beneath barred me in forever. 
But you, Lord my God, 
brought my life up from the pit. 
7 “When my life was ebbing away, 
I remembered you, Lord, 
and my prayer rose to you, 
to your holy temple. 
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols 
turn away from God’s love for them. 
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise, 
will sacrifice to you. 
What I have vowed I will make good. 
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’” 
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. 
Main Idea: If we are truly grateful for our salvation and deliverance, then we should be more than willing to share God’s mercy and grace with others. 

“Running from People and from God”

“Running from People and from God” (Jonah 1:1–16)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, October 9, 2016
Jonah 1:1–16 (NIV) 

1 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.” 
3 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. 
4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. 
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” 
7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” 
9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 
10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.) 
11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” 
12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” 
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. 
Main Idea: Running away from people that God wants you to minister to is the same as running away from God.

God’s Mercy to Outsiders: The Message of Jonah - Cameron Jungles - 9-10-2013

God’s Mercy to Outsiders: The Message of Jonah (Eastside
Baptist/Wed PM/July 10, 2013)
 The Message of Jonah
Ø  Setting
and Context
Ø  Structure
& Message
Ø  Important
Themes
Ø  “Jesus
Lens” and New Testament Application
 Setting and Context
Ø  Jonah,
son of Amittai
§  From
Gath Hepher, 2 Kgs 14:25
§  Prophet
to Israel (N. Kingdom)
Ø  During
reign of Jeroboam II
§  Prosperous,
spiritually dark
§  Enemy
Assyria in decline, but the threat still present.
 Structure & Message
Ø  Jonah
runs from God.
Ø  Jonah’s
prayer and rescue
Ø  Jonah
goes & Nineveh repents.
Ø  Jonah’s
anger & God’s question
§  Narration
of events, not prophetic oracles
§  Lesson
in story and final  ?
 Jonah runs from God.
Ø  Jonah’s
reluctance is rooted in righteous motives.
Ø  But
he fails to understand God’s boundless mercy.
Ø  Irony:
Jonah runs from God; pagan sailors sacrifice to God.
Ø  God
rescues undeserving Jonah
 Jonah’s Prayer & Rescue
Ø  Prayer
from inside the fish
Ø  Prayer
for deliverance, formed as a “Psalm of Thanksgiving”
Ø  Irony:
Jonah is thankful for the salvation he does not deserve, but unwilling to warn
others who are undeserving.
 Jonah goes & Nineveh repents.
Ø  Jonah
responds to 2nd call.
Ø  “40
days till’ doom’s day!”
Ø  City-wide
demonstration of repentance and sorrow
Ø  Irony:
Jonah presumed on God; pagan Ninevehites only hope (9).
Ø  God
relents (Jeremiah 18:7-8)
 Jeremiah 18:7-8
If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be
uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its
evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.
Jonah’s Anger & God’s Question
Ø  Jonah
is angry at God, because he is compassionate!
Ø  Jonah
would rather die than see Nineveh spared.
Ø  Jonah
waits for the fire to fall!
Ø  An
object lesson
Ø  A
question with no answer
Jonah 4:10
But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this
plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and
died overnight.
Jonah 4:11
And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh,
in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot
tell their right hand from their left--and also many animals?"
Important Themes
Ø  God
is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of all peoples.
Ø  God’s
compassion is boundless.
Ø  God
will bless all peoples through his blessing to Abraham’s descendants.
Ø  God
has mercy and compassion on whom he wills; we are not in a position to question
the extent of God’s mercy.
Ø  God
is the sovereign Lord, and every force of nature does his bidding.
“Jesus Lens” and Application
Ø  The
ultimate display of God’s compassion for the nations was the death, burial (3
days), and resurrection of Christ.
Ø  The
gospel message is for the nations, and whoever believes is spared God’s
judgment.
Ø  There
is no sinner beyond the reach of God’s compassion and grace.
Ø  We
may not run from our commission to share the good news with people who may seem
to be far away from grace.

Jonah Chapter 6 Venlon Bradford 12-11-2011.mp3

Jonah 6 Venlon Bradford 12-11-2011.mp3