Compassionate God, Compassionate Peole?

1:12We saw that was a loving act of discipline from a loving father. And we learned that God disciplines us for our good and for his glory. And then in chapter three last week, Jonah goes and preaches to the Ninevites. They repented, meaning they changed their hearts and their minds. So God relented from bringing the disaster that he said he was going to bring upon them. We learn that God is merciful to those who change. And so today we come to chapter four, the conclusion of the short, powerful book.

1:46We know what happened to the sailors. We know what happened to the Ninevites. But what's going to happen to Jonah? I mean, Jonah had been disobedient, and yet God had been compassionate toward him, just as he was to the sailors and to the Ninevites. How is Jonah going to respond to God's compassion? And more to the point, how are we going to respond to God's compassion? Because really, that's the question that you and I are left to answer. If we close this book and only consider Jonah's response, we've missed the point of the book of Jonah.

2:34So through Jonah, God invites us to look inward, to look at our hearts, to consider our lives, and to see how we have responded to God's compassion that He's poured out on us. And so this morning, here's what we'll see in chapter four: Those who receive God's compassion must be compassionate. We'll break that down into three parts. First, God is compassionate. Second, everyone needs compassion. And therefore, third, we must be compassionate. So let me invite you to back up to the last verse in chapter 3, chapter 3, verse 10. And let's look at that first point together. God is compassionate.

3:20In Jonah 3:10, we read, When God saw what they did, that is the Ninevites, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. When the Ninevites repented, God relented. He did not destroy the city. And if you've been following the story, you might think that Jonah would be happy about that.

3:57He ran away, but after he got swallowed by this great fish, he seemed like a changed man. Seemed like he had been humbled by that experience. He cried out to God for mercy from the bottom of the sea. And it seems like he's doing the right thing now from the right heart. He goes to Nineveh. As far as we know, he preaches the message that God gives to him, and the Ninevites respond. Friends, that is every preacher's desire.

4:28That is what we want to see. That people would respond to the word of God with repentance and faith. It is what you work for, it's what you pray for, it's what you hope for, it's what your whole life is built around. People responding positively to the word of God. So you would think that when the Ninevites repented, Jonah would have been thrilled. Because his outcome was not like Jeremiah's or Isaiah's or plenty of other prophets who only saw a handful of people respond positively throughout their entire ministry.

5:02I mean, the whole city of Nineveh, 120,000 people, respond with repentance and faith. That would be the highlight of a lifetime of ministry. But what is Jonah's response? Verse 1 tells us, but it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. Other translations render this, it was exceedingly evil to Jonah. In other words, Jonah is absolutely furious. Why? Why would Jonah be so mad that people responded positively to his preaching and believed God? Look at verse 2.

5:54And he prayed to the Lord and said, O Lord, is not this? What I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish. For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster. Jonah was furious because he did not want the Ninevites to be forgiven. He wanted them to be destroyed. And he just comes right out and admits that. In his prayer, he tells God, This is what I told you when I was back in Israel. This is why I ran away. I knew you were going to do this.

6:41I knew you were going to have compassion on these people, and I did not want that. You see, Jonah knew God's character. He knew that God was gracious and merciful, abounding in steadfast love, relenting from disaster. He knew that. And we know that. We see that all over the Bible. After God's people make and worship golden calves in the book of Exodus, every time they turn to sin and idolatry throughout the historical books, when God brought them back from exile and they rebuild the temple and they rebuild the wall and they rebuild their lives, every time God is gracious, he's merciful, he's abounding in steadfast love, he relents from disaster, even though his people deserve it.

7:30In other words, God is compassionate. That's what we see all through the Bible. And Jonah knew that. He knew that if the Ninevites repented, God would relent. He knew that if they turned to God with fasting and weeping and mourning, God would relent and forgive them. And Jonah simply did not want that. So he is furious. We have a complete reversal of roles here. God was furious at the Ninevites because of their wickedness and evil. But he relented when they repented. And now it's Jonah who is furious. And just how mad is he? Look at verse 3.

8:19Therefore, now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. Jonah is so angry that God has shown compassion to the Ninevites that he asks God to take his life. And if you remember back in chapter 1, when Jonah asked the sailors to hurl him into the sea, Jonah was essentially saying, I would rather die than repent. And now, here in chapter 4, now that the Ninevites have repented, Jonah is essentially saying, I would rather die than live in a world where God has compassion on Ninevites.

9:00On people like that. Does that seem crazy to you? That may sound crazy. Like, how could you ever get to that place as a believer where you wouldn't be happy that others have come to repentance and faith? But think of it this way. Sometimes you hear stories of people who have committed truly awful crimes. They're serving a life sentence in prison. They're on death row. And you hear stories of these people coming to faith and repentance in Jesus Christ.

9:44And you're like, wow, that's incredible. That's great news. God can change anybody. And that is the right response, isn't it? When you understand that every one of us is a sinner, that every one of us deserves judgment, that if it were not for the grace of God, every one of us would be in prison, having committed awful crimes. Every one of us would be condemned to suffer eternally in hell. So that's the right response. The right response is to celebrate when anyone comes to repentance and faith in Christ, because we're all sinners.

10:21But now, imagine if one of these criminals had sinned against you. If you were the one that they violated, if your family member was the one that they murdered, can you see how it would be difficult to celebrate? Can you see how it would be difficult to rejoice that you're going to spend eternity in heaven with that person who committed such an awful crime, who sinned against you and your family so greatly? So I think when you put yourself in that position, when you understand how awful the Ninevites were and the things that they had done to Israel for years and years, you can understand why Jonah responds the way that he does.

11:20But that doesn't make it right. And so God challenges him. Look at verse 4. And the Lord said, Do you do well to be angry? What a great question. It's essentially the same question that God asks Cain in Genesis 4. It's a question that we should all ask ourselves anytime we feel anger rising up inside of us. When we feel ourselves starting to get angry, we should say, I feel angry. Is it right? For me to feel that way? Do I do well to be angry about this thing or in this way?

12:10And I think the church has made a lot of progress in the past few decades understanding the importance of emotions and emotional health. I think we made progress pursuing emotional health. That's a really good thing. But I'm also concerned that many Christians are not taking the next step, which is evaluating their emotions in light of God's word. So it's good to acknowledge: I feel happy, I feel sad, I feel angry. You can't help how you feel.

12:48But the next step is to evaluate our emotions in light of Scripture, in light of God's Word, to ask ourselves: is it right for me to feel this way about this? Do I do well to be happy or sad or angry about this thing? Jonah felt angry. He could not help that. But God challenged him to consider why he was angry, why he felt that way, and whether it was right for him to feel angry. Because the truth is, Jonah's feelings were rooted in hypocrisy.

13:29His world was a very important thing. View was compassion for me, but not for thee. He ran from God. He rebelled against God. He disobeyed God's command. He deserved justice, not compassion. But when he was quite literally at the lowest point of his life, when he had sunk down to the bottom of the sea floor, God had compassion on him. God showed Jonah grace and mercy and steadfast love when Jonah did not deserve it. And that's because God is compassionate. It's who he is. He had compassion on the sailors and on the Ninevites and on Jonah. Because God is compassionate. And friends, that's a very good thing. Because as we'll see in the next section, our second truth, everyone needs compassion.

14:36Look with me at verse 5. Verse 5, Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade till he should see what would become of the city. Now, the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah that it might be a shade over his head to save him. From his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.

15:08Now at this point, Jonah is still holding out hope. Not hope that the Ninevites' repentance is real and lasting, but rather hope that God is still going to destroy them. So he gets out of the blast radius, so to speak. He makes himself a little booth, a little shelter out of branches, and he sits down and watches to see if God is going to nuke the Ninevites. But it's the Middle East in the middle of the day. It's really hot, and Jonah is cooking.

15:46So in the same way that God appoints this great fish to swallow him up at the end of chapter 1, God appoints a plant to grow up and give him some relief from the heat. What does Jonah think about that? Verse 6 tells us he was exceedingly glad because of the plant. Five minutes ago, Jonah was furious, and now he is exceedingly glad. Do you know anyone like that? If you know me, you know someone like that. My wife is shaking her head. Up and down, I mean. As in, yes, that is you.

16:27Look what happens. Verse 7. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind. And the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. So we see God appoints the fish, God appoints the plant, but now he appoints a worm and then a scorching east wind. And friends, in each instance, we're reminded that God is sovereign over his creation. He is in control of all things.

17:07God is sovereign over animals, like the great fish and the worm. Look what Jesus said in Matthew 10 on the screen. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. God is sovereign over plants. Look what the psalmist says in Psalm 147. He covers the heavens with clouds. He prepares rain for the earth. He makes grass grow on the hills. And God is sovereign over nature, like the scorching east wind. Look at Psalm 135.

17:49Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise and rise. At the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. Friends, God is in control of all things. And as we learned in our Romans series over the past couple of years, God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. Because what we learn in Romans is that God has predestined every believer to be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus. God's great purpose in your life and mine is to make us holier and holier people, more and more like Jesus. That process is called sanctification. That is the will of God for us. And one of the primary means that he uses to sanctify us is our trials, our sufferings, the hard things that we go through day to day and week to week.

19:01And so in this moment, God is using these things to sanctify Jonah. See, Jonah was thrilled about the plant, but now the plant is dead and gone. And thanks to the worm, he's melting, which, of course, is entirely his choice. He doesn't need to be sitting out here in the midday heat, but he is, because he wants to see the Ninevites obliterated. So, even though he's about to pass out, he doesn't want to leave and miss the action. Look what happens. Pick up in the middle of verse 8.

19:41And he asked that he might die and said, It is better for me to die than to live. But God said to Jonah, Do you do well to be angry for the plant? And he said, Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die. So Jonah goes from furious to exceedingly glad back to furious again. He says it would be better for him to be dead than alive. And so, just like last time, God challenges him to evaluate his emotions, to consider them in light of God's own character and word. And so, he asks him, Do you do well to be angry for the plant?

20:33Now, any thoughtful, healthy believer is going to respond by saying, You know what? You're right. I'm being ridiculous. It's obviously crazy to be angry about this miracle plant that was not here yesterday and is gone in less than a day. Why am I so mad about this? But Jonah believes. Bless his heart. He's just not in a good place. He is blinded by his sin. So when God asks him, do you do well to be angry about the plant? He responds, yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.

21:20Sounds just like a petulant child, doesn't he? God is being so kind and so gentle with him, just asking him questions, trying to get him to think and reflect about what's going on in his heart, whether it's right for him to be angry enough to die just because this plant withered. And friends, when we get angry, especially about the little things in life that really don't matter, it is an invitation from God to us to ask ourselves, what is going on in my heart?

22:02What is going on in my heart? Think about the times that you have erupted in anger toward your kids or towards your spouse or your roommate or your friend or a coworker over the smallest, dumbest stuff. And in the moment, you feel totally justified in doing that. What is going on there? Chances are, after some time, you've gone back to your kids. You've gone back to your roommate, your co-worker, your spouse, whoever it is, and you've said, I'm sorry. That was sinful. Please forgive me. I was actually angry about something else. I was angry about what's going on at work.

22:49I was angry about my grade in this class. I was angry about this relationship that's failing. And I took it out on you. Because think about it. Is Jonah really mad about the plant? Of course not. He's mad at God. He's mad that God is going to act in line with his character, that he's going to show compassion to the Ninevites. And Jonah doesn't want that. He feels angry about that because he's forgotten that everyone needs compassion. Everyone. The sailors needed compassion. They needed the grace and mercy of God, and they needed God to relent when that terrible storm was threatening to kill all of them.

23:39The Ninevites needed compassion. They needed the steadfast love of God. They needed God to relent when he was going to overthrow their city in 40 days. Jonah needed compassion. He was an Israelite, a prophet of God, but he tried to run from God's presence. He put the lives and the eternal destinies Of many people at stake through his disobedience. And friends, we need compassion. Every one of us. We need the mercy of God, the grace of God, the steadfast love of God because of our own sin and rebellion. We deserve justice. We deserve punishment. That would be right and fair for God to treat us that way. So we need compassion. Everyone needs compassion.

24:37But our problem is the same as Jonah's. Though we need compassion and though God has been compassionate toward us, we are reluctant to extend compassion to other people. And so that brings us to our final truth. We must be compassionate. Let's pick up here in verse 10. And the Lord said, You pity the plant for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left? And also much cattle.

25:36As one of my children used to say, be end. That's it. That's how the book of Jonah ends with that question. What about the cows, Jonah? But the book ends with God asking Jonah a couple of questions. Do you do well to be angry for the plant? And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city? Because those questions are aimed at the primary problem in the book, which is Jonah's heart and our hearts. Questions are so powerful, aren't they?

26:26When I was younger, as a Christian, as a parent, as a pastor, when I would see something that I felt needed to be addressed in another believer or one of my kids or a church member, I used to take a very direct approach. I know that's shocking to hear, but it's true. I used to take a very direct approach because I thought that was best. You know, hit the issue head-on, cite some scripture, give my counsel. And I was trying to do the right thing, I was trying to be faithful.

27:01But I noticed that a lot of the time, the people I was trying to help became defensive, and the conversation didn't often have the outcome I was hoping for. And so, the older I've gotten, the longer I've been a Christian, the longer I've been a parent, the longer I've been a pastor, the more I've studied the scripture, I've seen how God often takes a less direct approach. You ever notice that? All through the Bible, God asks people questions.

27:37God asks Cain, Where is your brother? God asks Elijah, What are you doing here, Elijah? Jesus asks his disciples, Why are you so afraid? Jesus asks the rich young ruler, Why do you call me good? Jesus asks all of us, Who do you say that I am? So, here at the end of the book, God doesn't rebuke Jonah directly. Instead, he just leaves him with these questions. Do you do well to be angry for the plant?

28:29Should not I pity Nineveh, that great city? Because those two questions expose what's going on in Jonah's heart. He is unrighteously angry. He's angry at the wrong things, and he's angry in the wrong way. That's unrighteous anger. You can be angry at the wrong stuff, you can be angry in the wrong way, or both. That is unrighteous anger, and Jonah is unrighteously angry. He is upset about the plant, but he's not upset that 120,000 people plus all of those animals are going to perish.

29:12Jonah is the recipient of God's compassion. He was a sinner who disobeyed and deserved God's judgment, but instead received God's mercy and grace and steadfast love. That should have made him into a compassionate person. When we receive compassion from God, that should make us compassionate people. But it didn't have that effect on Jonah's heart, at least not yet. And brothers and sisters, the same thing is often true of us. We do not deserve the mercy, the grace, the steadfast love of God.

29:51Paul says it so well to Titus. Look at how he describes how we used to be. Titus 3. For we ourselves were wicked. Once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. We deserved judgment and justice. We deserved punishment. But that is not what we received. Look at how Paul goes on. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Wow. What amazing grace. Through faith in Christ, God poured out his mercy and grace and steadfast love on us when we did not deserve it. He washed us clean and renewed us. He justified us and filled us with the Holy Spirit. And as a result of receiving the compassion of God, we should be compassionate people.

31:23People who look at other sinners and think, I was no different. I did not deserve the grace of God. And apart from his grace, I would be no different. I did not deserve compassion either. That realization changes the way that we view other people, helping us to see them as people in need of God's compassion, just like us. So, brothers and sisters, do you view other people that way? Or have you adopted that mentality that comes from our culture that looks at some people as deserving justice rather than compassion?

32:15And maybe that's because you think, like Jonah might have, that exercising compassion is weakness, that it minimizes the seriousness of sin. Nothing could be further from the truth. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross proves that God takes sin seriously. Friends, compassion is not free. When you exercise compassion, you are choosing to pay the cost of that. So when God, in his great mercy, chose to save us, his compassion was not free. It was not weakness. It required the death of his only begotten son, who was and is perfect in every way, who did not deserve what he got. Compassion is not free.

33:18But if we've received God's compassion, we must be compassionate. But maybe this morning you have not received Jesus by faith, and therefore you have not received the compassion of God. And if that's the case, it might be because you don't think that God will have compassion on you. You might think that you're too wicked, that God would never accept you. And if that's the case, I want you to remember that God had compassion on the pagan sailors in chapter 1, and they were wicked. God had compassion on the Ninevites, and they were wicked. God had compassion on rebellious Jonah, who ran away from God and got angry with God and even justified his sin. And so, my friend, if God can have compassion on wicked sailors and wicked Ninevites and rebellious Jonah, he can certainly have compassion on you. And he promises to do that.

34:31He promises to have compassion on any who turn to him in repentant faith. If you're familiar with the story of the prodigal son, there's this moment in the story where the son who runs away from his father and treats the father terribly and spends all the inheritance money, he decides that he's going to come back. He repents. And he starts heading towards home. And Jesus says in the parable that the father, while his son was still a long way off, he saw him and he had compassion on him. It uses that word. Jesus uses that very word. He had compassion on him. It says in the parable that the father ran to him, embraced him, said, Put the best robe on him, put a ring on his finger, new shoes on his feet. This son of mine who was lost has now been found.

35:34Friends, that is the reception that you will receive from your heavenly Father if you turn and come back to him. He is a compassionate God, not just for other people out there, he is a compassionate God toward you. And so, this morning, if you have not received God's compassion through faith in Jesus Christ, we implore you to do so. All you have to do is turn from sin. And turn to Christ in faith. Receive His life in your place, His death in your place, and His resurrection from the dead in your place, and you will be saved. That is the good news of the gospel. You can receive the grace and mercy and steadfast love of God this morning. And so, if nothing else at the end of the book of Jonah, our prayer is that you would do it. You would receive compassion from this compassionate God.

36:33Let's pray. Father, we see your character displayed in these pages of this book, and we are in awe. In awe that you would have compassion on sailors and Ninevites and Jonah and us. God, we pray that your compassion. Would mold us into compassionate people. That we would see others the way you see us through the lens of compassion. We pray that we would be eager to extend the same mercy and grace and love that you have extended to us.

38:00I pray that we would not be a hypocritical or judgmental people, but that we would be a people who have obviously and clearly been changed by the grace of God. And Lord, we pray for those among us who have not received Christ by faith. Oh, Lord, we pray that they would turn to you this morning and that you would have compassion on them. That you would see them as Jesus says that you do as sheep without a shepherd.

38:42We pray that you would turn their hearts to you and that they would receive you through repentance and faith. God, thank you for having mercy on sinners. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your steadfast love that we did not earn and cannot lose. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.