Get Up and Go!

(#2 in series: God, a Prophet, and a Whale)

(preached at Brook Hill United Methodist Church, Frederick, Maryland, Nov. 16, 2014)

(Jonah 3:1-10 NIV) ¹ 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.

Most of us know about Jonah. He was the prophet who wouldn’t obey God and tried to run away. He boarded a ship in the city of Joppa.

Today that city is called Jaffa. My friend Larry Putman was stationed at Jaffa in 2003. He was in U. S. Army, defending Israel against the threat of SCUD missiles. Saddam Hussein still ruled in Iraq, but his days were numbered.

Larry shared this story with me by email:

“I carry one photo in my Bible that I use as a bookmark. It’s the simple picture of a sunset taken at Jaffa when I was deployed there – a beautiful sunset over the Mediterranean. And in the foreground, a few coils of razor wire. There's a bit of duality going on there, just as there is inside all of us.

“Before I went back into the Army, I did a lot of praying. I felt lost.  My job was monotonous. I was drifting along without any direction. I felt a nudge steering me back into the Army. It was uncomfortable, but I couldn’t shake that feeling. I felt that I had to reenlist. 

“So I sold my house. I dropped my wife and son off in Germany, and was immediately deployed to Israel. The Army sent me to Jaffa, to the top of an old trash dump. I lived in canvas tents for three months. During this time I started attending services that the Chaplain gave every week. I was baptized in the Jordan River, which was a very special experience for me. 

“Whenever I feel those little God-nudges, I tend to push back. Those nudges are almost always uncomfortable, inconvenient, and tough to swallow. Like Jonah, I sometimes head 180 degrees in the wrong direction. I'm still learning how to surrender and I have to keep doing it (or trying) every day. 

It is a continuous battle, but I hope to be victorious someday. Until then, I'll stay the course (which means I’ll listen carefully) and keep marveling at that beautiful sunset.”

Larry’s story is a strong introduction to today’s message.

Jonah was given a second chance to get it right. He obeyed God and traveled 800 miles to Nineveh. At 20 miles a day, that would be a 40-day walk. Nineveh is just across the river from the Iraqi city of Mosul. Today this area is occupied by radical Islamic fighters – the ISIS.

God often gives us second chances for a better outcome. And at the end of this message I want to share a story about second chances.

But let’s think for a minute about the people of Nineveh. Jonah told them, “In 40 days, Nineveh will be overthrown.” Their first response was alarm. Their second response was repentance. They asked God to forgive them. They turned away from the things they knew to be sin.

And God was moved by their repentance. His heart was softened toward the Ninevites. His compassion was unleashed. And the city of Nineveh was not overthrown after all.

So here’s the truth: Our Repentance Unleashes God’s Compassion.

God is full of truth and holiness and justice. But He is also full of compassion and love and mercy.

Somehow He combines these two different facets perfectly in His divine character.

As the Bible says, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” (Psalm 85:10)

It will do us good to reflect on the beautiful nature of our Heavenly Father. In the essence of Who He is, mercy and truth meet together. In the essence of Who He is, righteousness and peace kiss one another.

Because He is merciful, God calls us to repentance.

The Ninevites were guilty of idolatry. They were guilty of all kinds of sexual sin, just like us. Like us, they were dishonest and stubborn and full of pride.

We are sinful. All of us should say, “Apart from God’s help, my life is a mess.” All of us should say, “Apart from God’s help, I am self-centered and disobedient. I am fallen. I am broken. My life is a mess!”

And this is the daily struggle of the Christian life: How do I say yes to God and no to myself?

Every day, how do I make Jesus again the Master and Commander of my life? Every day, how do I yield my will to God’s will?

I hope you’re saying along with me: “I struggle with this!” Because if you’re not struggling, either you’ve already surrendered to the enemy (and are living in outright sin), or you need to be shaken by the Spirit of God and awakened to the reality of your condition.

It’s easy to be a fan of Jesus, like we’re fans of the Redskins or Ravens. It’s easy to put on our Jesus jerseys and jump up and down every time our fancy is tickled by the latest Christian artist or superstar.

But it’s much more of a struggle to get up every morning, to face the realities and difficulties of our lives, and to say, “I love you, Jesus. I’m choosing again to be devoted to You today.”

 “I’m choosing again to give up the right to myself and I’m saying yes to You as the Director and Boss of my life. You are the Potter and I am the clay. You are the Artist and I am the cheap acrylic paint.

You are the Writer and I am the dull pencil that You are glad to use. How do You want to use me today? How can I further Your agenda?”

This is the struggle that Larry Putman spoke of earlier. Remember, he said, “I'm still learning how to surrender and I have to keep doing it (or trying) every day.  It is a continuous battle...”

So in this struggle of the Christian way, let repentance be your daily tool. Because (just like the Ninevites) when we repent, God’s compassion is released into our lives. And His compassion – His love – changes everything. The beauty of the character of Jesus is released into our lives. And God continues to cleanse us, to sculpt us, to perfect us.

Let’s think for a minute about second chances. Last week Randy Werts shared his second chance story with me:

“On December 7, 2000, while deer hunting. I felt a pain running down my left arm. I thought I'd pulled a muscle. I started walking back to my vehicle. Walking turned to a crawl. Returning to my truck, I drove to Shady Grove Hospital.

“I walked through the doors, holding my arm and chest. Doctors and nurses pushed others aside and I went to the top of the triage list. The pain was now intolerable. A doctor leaned over me and said, ‘Hear that noise? It's your ride.’ A medevac helicopter was landing on the roof.

“The doctor said, ‘It would take 30-40 minutes by ambulance to get you to the Heart Center, but you don't have 30 minutes.’

“I caught my breath.

“He continued. ‘The helicopter can get you there in nine minutes. That may be all the time you have.’ 

“Laying on the gurney, looking up through the glass roof at the blades going around, I thought, ‘I have just nine minutes. What am I going to do with them?’

“I did a lot of thinking in those nine minutes, mostly about Dana and two kids at home and what it would be like for them if I didn't make it.

“I thought about what I would do differently, if I had a second chance. I would give up partying, quit smoking, concentrate more on family, more on church. A peace came over me.

“I took those minutes to prioritize my life. I thought, ‘If I do make it, these are the things I’ll change.’

“At Washington Heart Center an attempt was made (by angioplasty) to clear two mostly blocked arteries. They were able to clear one. The other remains completely blocked to this day. Some damage occurred to my heart muscle, and I live with that today. My heart was stopped and restarted a couple of times to return it to a normal rhythm. A stent and defibrillator were implanted in my chest.

“God wasn't done with me yet. I was given a second chance.I gave up those vices and turned my life around. 

“Our lives here on earth could be over today or tomorrow – we never know.”

At this point in our lives, most of us are well beyond a second chance. We are well beyond Plan B.

But we have this day. Today is the day to choose to follow Jesus with all your might. You have life. You have breath. You have the opportunity today to thank God for these blessings. You have time to praise your Maker. And you have time to make Jesus the Master of your life.

Repentance releases God’s compassion into our lives.

This morning, do you need to repent of your sin? Do you need to recommit yourself to the daily struggle of faithful Christian living? I urge you, become more than a Jesus fan. Become more than a churchgoer. Become more than a nice guy or gal. Become a follower of Jesus. Become a struggler. Become the one who wrestles with God and will not let Him go.

And welcome to the struggle!