Title: The Proclamation of Jonah and Nineveh Saved
1. Words that begin
It is often seen that unbelievers disobey the word of God because they do not believe in God, ordinary members of the church disobey the word of God for their own religious reasons, and religious leaders disobey the word of God for their own theological reasons .
Last week, I spoke of the incident where Jonah, who disobeyed God's command and fled to Tarshish for exclusive Jewish theological and religious reasons and divine danger, was eventually thrown into a violent storm and entered the belly of a big fish. I gave. Jonah cried out to God in his stomach to live or to die, and God commanded the fish to vomit Jonah to dry land.
2. God's second command to proclaim
God's grace not only saved Jonah's life as he repented and prayed, but he still recognized the dignity and honor of his former prophet. God once again entrusted the mission of preaching the word, instead of asking Jonah for his past sins, who repented and prayed to him after being scolded for his disobedience.
As believers, we may also make mistakes and mistakes, and there may be times when we disobey the word of the Lord in the name of the Lord. And God must enlighten us through the sermons of His servants, the Bible, or any person or event. It is not an opportunity to rationalize, be self-righteous, or self-righteous, but an opportunity to repent and believe in God's great love and pray like Jonah. Then, God will give us the word to obey again.
In modern times, the sophistication of theologians who pride themselves on being on the cutting edge of theology while rejecting traditional theology, the Church of God, whose head is Christ, is in grave crisis. Some of them deny the divinity of Jesus, some deny the redemption of Jesus on the cross, and some say that Christianity, which believes in one God, is not the only religion of salvation. Professor Mary Daley said, "The second coming of Jesus is not when Jesus comes again, but when the passport is restored, and it will be fully restored only when the Antichrist comes again, and only when the opposers of the church come."
According to Newsweek in the August 1993 issue, there were over 14,000 Methodist churches in England, the country where Methodism originated. More than half of the 8,000 churches disappeared, leaving only 6,000 churches. Recently, a large, traditional Methodist church in London has been sold as a bar.
The Methodist Church in the United States had 12 million members until 1965, but has decreased to less than 8 million, and one church is created and five churches are dying. Churches that gather 350 people every day are closing their doors one by one.
From these shocking facts, we can see how much damage a leader can do when he falls into a false doctrine or ideology. In particular, the errors of theologians are more terrifying than any other leader's errors in that they will lead to eternal destruction for countless members of the church. In James 3:1, there is a warning saying, “My brethren, do not be many teachers, knowing that we who are teachers will receive a greater judgment.”
Some even claim that Christianity, which believes in one God, is one of many religions that worship all gods, and that after all, all religions, including Christianity, are different paths to the same truth. In other words, there are several hiking trails to the top of the mountain. In that case, there is no need to become a Christian and there is no need to evangelize. Therefore, there is no reason for those who claim to be the first to be at the seminary themselves.
Everyone, listen carefully. God commanded Jonah twice to go to Nineveh and declare that Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days. There, as in any other country, there were all kinds of idols and all kinds of religions that worshiped them. And all kinds of sinful life, including sexual immorality directly related to each religion, were prevailing. To a certain extent, the God of love had no choice but to judge. It is the last love of Nineveh to force the disliked Jonah to proclaim your judgment. They reveal that the gods they believe in are nothing in the end. All their religions are just being deceived by Satan's schemes. God through Jonah to such them! By pronouncing judgment, we want to make it clear to them who the only true God is.
3. Jonah's Immediate Obedience
When Jonah met the storm earlier, knowing that the gods that everyone on board believed were nothing and that only Jehovah God was the only true God, Jonah immediately obeyed the God who saved his life and gave his orders again. If I had obeyed earlier, I wouldn't have suffered to death, and I wouldn't have done anything that I couldn't do to others. In the end, what we have no choice but to obey... Everyone, please obey God's Word as soon as you hear it. There is an exception in Jonah's case, but usually late submission means nothing.
Jonah, who had experienced God's power firsthand, gave his life to God and boldly entered Nineveh. And I mustered up the courage and cried out in public. “In 40 days Nineveh will fall.”
4. What Jonah proclaimed
As a result of Jonah's uttering the word of God, a truly amazing thing happened. The people of Nineveh, who believed in all kinds of idols, believed in the God that Jonah had preached, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, large and small. Wearing sackcloth symbolizes sorrow and repentance. Everyone, please believe that the God who commands us works before us. Please believe that God is already working even for family members and relatives who are unlikely to believe in God. Don't be discouraged and don't give up. I hope you will realize that the Holy Spirit of God is already at work in that hardened heart, and pray and evangelize with patience.
God's work of salvation goes beyond and beyond our imagination. Look. The news even reached the king of Nineveh. Then the king, who was acquainted with the country's religious devastation and moral and moral depravity, judged that it was coming. So the king immediately got up from the throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat down in the ashes. To sit on ashes is to indicate a state of helplessness and hopelessness.
The king of Nineveh issued a decree, saying that no man or beast, herd or sheep, or anything, should put anything in their mouth, and that all humans and animals should put on sackcloth and cry out to the Lord God. He also told them to turn away from their evil ways and from the violence of their hands. The reason the king made such a decree and declared it was because he thought that God might stop his wrath and change his will to destroy Nineveh.
No, God did not bring the calamity that He intended to bring upon Nineveh's repentance and faith.
5. Conclusion
I read an article that lawmakers who were performing official duties continued to perform their official duties while drinking a lot of alcohol served by the minister in the interlude. Selfishness and hedonism prevailed, and in the end, children even killed their parents. Know that the power of the gospel is more urgent than ever, and boldly evangelize with your words and actions.
(Poongseong Methodist Church. Book: Complete New Testament Commentary Series/ Interpretation of difficult scriptures/ Prayer of Prosperity/ Baking before the birth of Jesus (English, Korean)/ Sermonbook 17. 426-3051)