Title Hearing Jonah's Evangelism (Matthew 12:38-42)
In 1 Kings 18:1, when the famine in Samaria was severe, "...the word of the Lord was to Elijah.
He came and said, "Go and show Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth."
is.
And Elijah, with four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of Asherah
There was a great spiritual battle.
There Elijah
(1 Kings 18:37) Answer me, O LORD, answer me; with this people the Sovereign LORD
Let them know that you are me and that you are turning our hearts.
hawk "
(1 Kings 18:38) Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and the water in the trench.
licked"
In this way, Elijah the prophet won a great victory in a spiritual battle with eight hundred and fifty idolaters on Mount Carmel.
Lu is written down.
What was the source of the strength that was able to win that battle?
(1 Kings 18:30) Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me, and all the people will tell him.”
As he drew near, he rebuilt the altar of the LORD that had been broken down."
When we build the broken altar of Jehovah, when we restore worship to God, the strength that God gives
There was.
And
" (1 Kings 18:44) On the seventh time he said, "A little cloud the size of a man's hand rose up from the sea.
It's me..."
(1 Kings 18:45) After a while the clouds and the wind rose, and the sky became dark, and it rained heavily.
La ... "
"(1 Kings 18:46) And the power of the LORD came upon Elijah..."
Even if you can't see it, you can see the other side of the sea seven times, believe in God's promises,
I saw and believed in the name, and the rain of power and miracles came to fall.
Even though it was invisible, I found a small cloud the size of my hand, and even a single point of that cloud has the power of God.
You must have faith in this to win the spiritual battle.
We see with our eyes, hear with our ears, touch with our hands, and there is no feeling, no sensation, no challenge, no change.
There is a person.
However, the Bible believes and waits until you see a small cloud the size of a hand even if you cannot see it.
There are people who make it.
The eight hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and Asherah did not come out of the gap between the world and the idols of the world.
(1 Kings 18:28) Then they cried out with a loud voice, and followed the ordinance with swords and spears until blood flowed.
He wounded him."
Still, they received no response.
But with a single prayer, Elijah made a miraculous rain of fire and power pour down.
What would be the difference?
It is the difference between self and God and the world and faith.
And that's the difference between cause and reality.
No matter how many there are, there are people who cannot do anything and instead injure themselves.
In other words, there are people who can achieve great powers and miracles, even if it is just one person.
The gospel is just that.
God can do great things through one person who believes and grants all wishes of one person who obeys.
make it come true
God made the kingdom of God a humble person, and God made a dedicated person
He revitalizes the congregation.
So now I have to look back on who I am in the last week of this year.
With what kind of heart did I worship, with what kind of heart I prayed, and with what kind of heart
You have to look back on whether you served the saints, served the church, and served God during this time.
You must repent in Li.
Today's reading Matthew chapter 12 introduces Jonah, a man from the Old Testament.
Jonah was a prophet who ministered during the reigns of Joash and Jeroboam II.
A prophet sent to the capital of Nineveh.
Assyria was a period of tension and sensitive reaction after the war with Israel in the north at that time.
It was not easy to fulfill the missionary mission.
But Jonah praises Jesus for saying that he can see nothing but the signs of the prophet Jonah.
have received
What happened to Jonah?
1. You must be in the ground for three days and three nights.
At that time, some of the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus to show him a sign.
"(Matthew 12:38) ...Teacher, we want you to show us a sign."
" (Matthew 12:39) Jesus answered and said, An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, but the prophet
There is no sign to be seen except my sign."
Why did Jesus tell the signs of Jonah while he had many miracles and signs and wonders?
do you spend
Jonah overcame his circumstances, circumstances, and conditions.
Jonah overcame his feelings, emotions, and desires with the Word.
Jonah deviated from the Word by his own thoughts and went to another place in Tarshish, but he repented and turned back.
came.
Jonah will have a hard time fulfilling his mission in the wicked and lewd generation, and it will be cumbersome and tiring.
He returned to Neveh and fulfilled his original mission.
And Jonah repented in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
This is a sign, a miracle, and a power.
Why do we live helplessly, and why do we live without grace day and night?
If you still have your own greed, selfishness, sloth and laziness, you will die three days and three nights, and live
you should know
When Jesus died on the cross, our sins and transgressions must also have died, and our envy and resentment must have died.
All.
Then, when Jesus comes back to life, he can be resurrected with signs, miracles and powers.
2. You have to meet the bigger one.
After hearing Jonah's preaching, Nineveh in Assyria repented.
"(Matthew 12:41) ...for they repented when they heard the preaching of Jonah..."
When Jonah, who was so lacking and weak, and ran away in a sense of inferiority, received power and evangelized
If Nineveh in Assyria repented, we have a greater God.
“(Matthew 12:41) … the greater is here;”
“(Matt 12:42) … something greater than Solomon is here.”
If we want to become great people and become great vessels, we must meet the great and high God.
All.
Even if Moses is great or Paul is great, the God who is with them is greater.
Even if I have ability, even if I have power, the God who works behind me is higher
is.
Even if Jonah works miracles, even if Solomon is wise, but without God they will fall apart in an instant.
It's people who are crazy.
Therefore, we must look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, and
I must praise you with my soul.
3. If you don't change, it gets worse.
(Matthew 12:43) When the unclean spirit goes out from a person, it goes through waterless places, seeking rest.
can't get"
(Matt 12:44) Then he said, “I will return to the house from which I came.” When he came, the house was empty and the grain offering
and it has been repaired."
“(Matthew 12:45) So he went and brought in seven demons more evil than the other, and they entered and dwelt, and the man’s I
The situation will be worse than before, and so will this wicked generation be.”
The unclean spirit seeks rest, but does not find it, and when it repairs its house, it takes seven more evil spirits.
As you go in, the situation gets worse and worse.
So we must change now.
We must put off the old habits of following the old customs and put on a new person.
If you don't change, you become stronger.
becomes arrogant.
Your conscience hardens.
This is what this wicked generation will be like.
Now we must come from an evil generation to a good generation, from laziness to zeal, and from tribe to fullness.
do.
We must come out of the flesh as the spirit, and we must come out from our self-centeredness to God-centeredness.
If you don't, it will get worse.
If it gets worse, there is no remedy or solution.
You have to die three days and three nights and then wake up.
We must meet a greater God.
Now we have to change.
And let's welcome the new year, wear new clothes for the new year, and open up a new vision.