Series
on the Book of Jonah #4
"RUNNING AGAINST GOD!"
TEXT: Jonah
4:1-10
INTRO: What do you think
the most destructive force is in the world
today?
a. Atom
Bombs
b. Chemical Warfare
products
c.
Pollution
d. Financial
markets
e.
Communism
f. Natural
disasters
g. Pastor's
puns
h.
Poverty
i.
Disease
NONE OF THE ABOVE! It is
SELF-PITY! More people are
destroyed by self pity than anything else ... it affects the way they see
everything!! QUITE LITERALLY ...
EVERYTHING!
Do Christians ever have a problem with self-pity! YES, even the best ones! It is a monster you must discipline daily
or it will devour your perception of reality and make you angry with God and the
world!
PROP.
SENT: The final message of Jonah
teaches us the futility of being angry with God ... or jealous of others God
blesses, in fact, any self-pity we relish in will have a very destructive force
in our lives; at best we will be miserable!
A. Personal Nature Jonah
4:1
1. Jonah had a serious
problem with his emotional nature!
a. "Jonah was
greatly displeased..."
b. "and became
angry."
c. These two things
usually go hand in hand together!
2. We are not talking
about ordinary anger here, or fleeting moments of anger ... we are talking about
real entrenched anger of the hottest kind!
3. Jonah stands in
complete contrast to God here, WHILE GOD TURNED FROM HIS ANGER ... Jonah
turns TO ANGER!
a. While God was "SLOW"
to anger JONAH was QUICK!
b. Jonah couldn't be
more opposite of God at the moment – God had forgiven the wicked people of
Nineveh; but Jonah wanted them all dead, all because of self-pity caused from
jealousy and pride!
4. This seems to be in
Jonah's nature to some extent ... yet God loved him enough that He was going to
challenge Jonah over his extremes emotionally!
a. God will for us
too!
b. Sometimes this is
not a pleasant experience!
5. Jonah displays all
the characteristics of self pity and anger:
a.
Jealousy
b. Felt
cheated
c. Isolated himself
from everyone while pouting!
d. Sat alone in
isolation pining how unfair God was ... was basically depressed over God’s love
for people he didn’t love, hoped his pity party might get God to change His mind
about saving the Ninevites!
e. Jonah saw nothing in
its proper perspective!
f. Felt alone in
his ordeal ... nobody else could know or understand like him! If only God would heed his wisdom and
not save these lousy good for nothing enemies of
g. Self-importance
becomes a barrier to caring for others.
ILLUS: A
first grader was told to come directly home from school, but he arrived late
almost every day. The difference in time amounted to as much as twenty minutes.
His mother asked him, "You get out of school the same time every day. Why can't
you get home at the same time?" He said, "It depends on the
cars.
"What do cars have to do with
it?"
The youngster explained, "The
patrol boy who takes us across the street makes us wait until some cars come
along so he can stop them."
-- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited
(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 312.
B. Private Need! Jonah
4:2
1. So what makes this
guy redeemable?
a. First he does the
right thing, HE PRAYS! This was a good start on the
problem!
b. He doesn't pretend
with God ... Jonah is honest about himself and his
feelings!
c. NOTE: Being honest and open with God is
important, but be careful who you share deep feelings
with!
ILLUS: My
sermon today is on humility, and in my opinion, it's one of the finest pieces
ever written."
-- Cartoonist Johns in Leadership, Vol. 12, no. 1.
2. He doesn't make
excuses or water down his actions or feelings as he talks to God, at least he
didn't let them out on the Ninevites!
a. He now is candid
about why he at first fled from God!
b. HE KNEW GOD WOULD SAVE THEM! This was the whole reason he tried not
to go in the first place!
c. While he had a poor
view of himself at this point ... he did have a proper view of God! THIS WOULD BE THE SECOND THING that
helps him!
C. Prophet-Non-Prophet! Jonah
4:3-4
1. Why is he so
concerned? Because he knows that
back home in Israel they will be angry with him for helping their enemy ... and
he had enjoyed great popularity with Israel because of his prophecies on
Israel's growth and new found strength and
prosperity!
2. He was jealous too;
God in savings the Ninevites was like saying: “the whole WORLD IS SPECIAL TO ME,
NOT JUST
a. They liked being the
"special" people.
b. Jonah enjoyed being
the "special prophet" to the "special people."
c. Do we as Christians
today take “joy” when sinners have bad things happen to them? If so, are we any better than Jonah was
in his day?
3. Jonah knew this
could mean being stripped of the Prophet's status with his own
people!
a. Why? According to the Old Testament if a
prophet spoke and the thing did NOT come to pass they were to be treated as a
false prophet!
b. What had Jonah
preached in
c. Since God decided
NOT to kill them but turn from His anger toward
4. Jonah's concern was
the loss of his prestige and position ... all for a bunch of horrible Gentiles
who were many times more evil than
a. He felt cheated by
God.
b. He felt used by
God
c. He thought only of
his own reputation and lifestyle.
d. He felt betrayed for
being obedient without much choice; remember the fishing trip was still fresh in
his mind!
e. He was so good at
seeing the sins of the Ninevites that he didn’t notice his
own!
ILLUS: One
of the interesting things about preaching to New Yorkers is you don't have to
spend much time convincing them they're sinners. They know that they're wading
waist deep in evil every day of the week. It's on every block. The city can
bring out the worst from the depths of the soul. When I preach in
5. He was angry that
God could and would love others too, especially these
people!
a. "HOW CAN GOD
BLESS SO AND SO?"
b. "They don't
appreciate me at all..."
c. "I'm just
used..."
d. "Everything is
unfair..."
6. At the moment he was
acting like a NON-PROPHET! HE WAS
JUST LIVING AS THE GROUCH! Jonah
4:5-6
A. Pouting Numskull! Jonah
4:5
1. Jonah ignored his
brethren and the newfound believers, self-pity drove him out of fellowship with
everyone, to throw his own self-pity party ... NO VISITORS WELCOMED! He simply goes outside the city alone
and sits down east of the city from a distance and watches, probably with hope
that God might yet destroy them after He thinks about it longer. He waits to see what will happen to the
city for a while.
a. Self-pity operates
this way! It drives you out of
fellowship, and anger keeps you there!
b. You imprison
yourself in despair!
2. He refuses to see
the whole picture and the great God he had the privilege to serve; in fact
that's exactly what he lost sight of: SERVICE! Failure to see clearly can be
costly!
ILLUS:
Many
years ago a man named Simpson built a house on the Canford Cliffs, near
a. He wanted God to do
things HIS way!
b. He didn't appreciate
the FORCED obedience knowing that God would do what he didn't want to see happen
... hundreds of thousands of Gentiles getting
saved!
3. So what does he
do? HE GOES OFF ALONE AND
POUTS!
(Isolation)
a. He was still hoping
to watch a massacre in
b. Perhaps he was
hoping the revival wouldn't stick!
c. He hoped against
hope that God would really give it to them and save his
reputation!
4. While pouting, and
not thinking through his numskull brain how wonderful this ought to have
been, he makes himself a shelter to shade himself from the heat of the
sun!
a. So much for the
verbal threats of "I want to
die!"
b. For a guy that wanted to die he sure went to
great lengths to make himself comfortable!
This was just more drama
emotionally!
c. After all, no sense
to die from heat exhaustion! Yet,
HE IS DIEING OF THE HEAT OF ANGER ... he needed something to cool that
down!
5. Stubbornness shows
itself now ... he had to have sat there pouting for at least a month or more if
he was waiting for the 40 days to go by!
a. He accomplished
nothing else except to feed his own self-pity!
b. He may have hoped
God would take his advice and fry the whole nation of
c. Stubbornness marks
itself in the life of the self-pity ... usually nothing gets accomplished except
feeding the frenzy of emotions of anger, bitterness, jealousy, rebellion, and
isolation!
B. Provided Nurturing! Jonah
4:6
1. Ironically, the God
whom Jonah complains to about being patient with wicked people is being patient
enough with Jonah to try and nudge him into a better
mood!
a. He now becomes the
recipient of God's "SLOW TO ANGER, ABOUNDING IN COMPASSION, A GOD WHO IS
GRACIOUS!"
b. AND HE DIDN'T
DESERVE IT ... JUST LIKE THE N1NEVITES, but God is patient with Him and provides
a "SHADY" deal for Jonah!
2. Reason had failed
... in verse 4 God had asked him if he had a
reason for his anger ... he had refused comment and instead chose
pouting!
a. Now God would try a
different tactic!
b. God would do the
same for HIM that He done for
3. Notice how happy
Jonah became for this “shady” deal!
Evidently he had done such a poor job with his temporary hut that he
needed something more to block the hot sun!
a. That's another
symptom of self-pity -- poor quality work, the heart just not in it! And it causes us to see only our own
needs and not those of others.
ILLUS: A
young man applying for a job as usher in a theater was asked by the owner, "In
case of fire, what would you do?" "Oh, don't be concerned about me," was the
reply. "I'd be able to escape immediately." He did not even think of his
responsibility toward others. Of course, he didn't get the job. –
Source Unknown
b. God remedies the
heat problem by providing this vine!
4. The abrupt extreme
of happiness over something for himself demonstrates the attitude Jonah had
about others ... as long as it was for HIM he was happy, but NOT FOR
OTHERS! (Selfishness is another symptom of
self-pity)
5. These extreme swings
indicate a fragile emotional makeup, to be so angry over a great thing God did
for others, and so happy over a small thing for
himself!
a. As you will see,
this doesn't last long; it usually doesn't for self-pity type of
people!
b. As soon as his need
is not met anymore he resorts to complaining again! Once God sent the worm to eat the vine
He had given Jonah earlier for shade Jonah once again became angry and
depressed.
III. HEALING THE GRUDGE! Jonah
4:7-10
A. Punishment necessary! Jonah 4:7-8
1. Notice all the
things God had PROVIDED for Jonah:
a. A huge
fish!
b. An entire nation
that repented of their sins!
c. A vine to give
shade!
d. AND NOW A
WORM!
e. AND AFTER THE WORM A
SCORCHING EAST WIND (probably blew down
his shelter!)
2. Notice too that
Jonah in his self pity couldn't see any of those things as wonderful provisions,
even though earlier HE HAD STATED how thankful he had been that God saw fit to
save him via the fish!
a. Self-pity and
"THANKFULNESS" do not coexist together very
long!
b. Hence this was
another sign or symptom of his self-pity ... a THANKLESS heart!
3. Jonah expresses his
extremes again, "IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER FOR ME TO DIE THAN TO
LIVE..."
a. Yet, even as God was
allowing his wish to die, "HE GREW FAINT"... he was complaining about
dying!
b. God was trying to
show him how ridiculous his emotions were over such a small thing to help him
appreciate the BIG THING that God had done!
ILLUS: Descending
into the valley, at the last curve he lost control of the car. As it toppled
over the bank at the side of the road, his only thought was: "Well at least my
job's done," His one, weary, happy thought. It wasn't so: He was to go on
living. But not to go on with this
journey. When he came to, and the
solid world again took shape around him, he could hardly keep back his
tears--tears of self-pity and disappointment because his vacation plans had been
ruined. The one reaction was no
less genuine than the other. We may
be willing to turn our backs on life, but we still complain like children when
life does not grant our wishes.
-- Dag Hammarskjold, Leadership, Vol. 3, no.
4.
c. Jonah was quite
stubborn at this point however!
BINGO, another quality of self-pity: STUBBORNESS!
d. Jonah exaggerates
greatly all the things that he thinks he has been cheated on ... HERE’S ANOTHER TRAIT OF SELF-PITY: EXAGGERATION!
B. Petty Nonsense! Jonah
4:9
1. The stubborn
exaggeration shows itself in this verse very
clearly!
a. God had allowed
Jonah a blessing when he didn't deserve it, like
b. God tried a WORM
next ... and still Jonah worms his way out of being
repentant!
2. God out right asks
him if he has a real reason to be angry at the little
vine?
a. In Jonah's state of
mind he plays out the self-pity to the bitter
end!
b. This is the sorry
state of the individual who chooses, YES, CHOOSES to EXPERIENCE
SELF-PITY!
c. Too many “I’s” made
him blind!
ILLUS: In
1940, the International Herald Tribune printed a report from a student at
3. There is absolutely
NO REASON FOR A CHRISTIAN TO live in self-pity!
a. God has been more
gracious to us than we ever deserve!
b. We have more
wonderful things than most people on the earth and we cry around over the price
of gasoline and little petty things!
c. Or we get angry
because God blessed someone else more than us, or we feel we struggle more than
anyone else!
d. The TRUTH IS WE CAN
COUNT OUR MANY BLESSINGS ANYTIME! QUICK ... NAME THAT TUNE - OR
TESTIMONY!
C. Praise Necessary! Jonah
4:10
1. The book ends with
God attempting to reason with Jonah and show him that he ought to SHOUTING from
the mountain for God's patience and compassion rather than pining away over
self-pity!
2. God had the first
word ...and now he gets the last, but this will always be the
case!
3. Sometimes the best
thing to do is SURRENDER!
a. Our
bitterness
b. Our
jealousy
c. Our
anger
d. Our
exaggeration
e. Our
stubbornness
f. Our
isolation
g. Our
thanklessness
h. Our concept of fair
play
i. Our
pride
j. Our
self-pity!
k. Our LIVES to Christ!
TRUST
HIM!
ILLUS: In
her travels, a lady experienced some cold weather. As she was shivering she
turned to her servant to remind her to send some warm blankets to the poor
people when they got home. She arrived at her luxurious warm home, took off her
furs, and over a cup of tea made herself comfortable. Later, when her servant
reminded her of the promised blankets, her reply was, "Ah, yes, I remember; but
it's nice and warm now."
– Source Unknown
4. There doesn't seem
to be recorded a response to God from Jonah, but since he wrote the book we can
assume he came around at some point ... and to have portrayed himself like this
took a lot of humbling, especially knowing others would read the story; in other
words, HE FINALLY CAME AROUND!
a. I'll bet he was a
happier prophet for it too!
b. Just think of what
it took to get him to turn:
(1. A fish
first!
(2. Then a vine
second
(3. Then a worm, (sounds like fishing
backwards!)
(4. Then the
heat!
c. Could Jonah have
avoided all of them ... YES!
Obedience initially would have kept him from the
process!
d. God not only had a
message for
e. God builds a man
when He is building that man's ministry! They go
together!
5. What was the final
point to all this? GOD WAS TRYING
TO GET JONAH TO PRAISE HIM FOR THE WAY HE WORKS IN THE WORLD AND THE
INDIVIDUAL!!
a. Praise and self-pity
to do not cohabit together!
b. Praise would finally
break the anger ... and the self-pity.
c. Self-pity by its
nature is SELFISHNESS!
d. Praise by its nature
is SELFLESS!
6. Think of the PRAISE
Jonah could have given ... HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF SOULS SAVED IN JUST 3 DAYS OF
MINISTRY!
a. The witness of a
fruitful ministry!
b. The scope of God's
love, for EVERYONE!
c. He should have been
on the mountain shouting "HALLELEUAH!"
d. Praise was
necessary, pity was nonsense!
CONCLUSION: A great prophet named
Jonah struggled with self-pity ... and almost lost everything because of
it! It consumed his joy, his love
for God and others, his motivation for ministry, his perspective on others, and
his view of himself! In the end,
self-pity robs YOU of everything worth praising God for ... how about you ...
are you having a party with no one else invited? Self-pity is a lonely
affair!