1 00:00:01,000 –> 00:00:02,520 Well, please have your Bible open 2 00:00:02,520 –> 00:00:05,940 at Jonah and chapter four. 3 00:00:05,940 –> 00:00:07,940 This is not the last in the series by the way 4 00:00:07,940 –> 00:00:10,040 because we’ve not yet come to chapter two. 5 00:00:10,040 –> 00:00:11,280 You remember we skipped over that. 6 00:00:11,280 –> 00:00:13,160 We said we’d come back and God willing 7 00:00:13,160 –> 00:00:16,340 we will do that next week and the week that follows 8 00:00:16,340 –> 00:00:19,540 but we’ve been seeing that throughout this book 9 00:00:19,540 –> 00:00:24,080 there really is the theme of Jonah confessing 10 00:00:24,080 –> 00:00:28,860 that although he was widely known as a marvelous prophet 11 00:00:28,940 –> 00:00:30,900 he really spent much of his life 12 00:00:30,900 –> 00:00:34,180 avoiding the God he set out to serve. 13 00:00:34,180 –> 00:00:36,160 And many of us I think are finding 14 00:00:36,160 –> 00:00:38,779 that we are a lot like Jonah 15 00:00:38,779 –> 00:00:41,980 and seeing ourselves mirrored in him 16 00:00:41,980 –> 00:00:45,759 that we find a new desire to change and to grow. 17 00:00:45,759 –> 00:00:47,900 I think the book also encourages us 18 00:00:47,900 –> 00:00:51,099 by the very clear way in which it conveys 19 00:00:51,099 –> 00:00:54,400 that God never lets his children go. 20 00:00:54,400 –> 00:00:57,180 That we may wander from him in many ways. 21 00:00:57,220 –> 00:01:00,400 We may go through periods of great hardness of heart. 22 00:01:00,400 –> 00:01:02,240 And yet when God sets his love on you, 23 00:01:02,240 –> 00:01:05,519 he will never, never, never let you go. 24 00:01:05,519 –> 00:01:09,580 And that also is Jonah’s testimony to us. 25 00:01:09,580 –> 00:01:11,900 Now the verses at the end of Chapter 4, 26 00:01:11,900 –> 00:01:15,660 Verse 10 and 11 really focus in 27 00:01:15,660 –> 00:01:19,239 on this marvelous theme of the compassion of God 28 00:01:19,239 –> 00:01:21,900 that runs right throughout the book. 29 00:01:21,900 –> 00:01:23,279 The great irony, of course, 30 00:01:23,279 –> 00:01:27,059 is that although Jonah so obviously received God’s mercy 31 00:01:27,080 –> 00:01:29,379 in his own life in many ways, 32 00:01:29,379 –> 00:01:32,580 he was curiously reluctant about that mercy 33 00:01:32,580 –> 00:01:36,860 coming to other people, especially the people of Nineveh. 34 00:01:36,860 –> 00:01:39,120 And we see in that, I think, 35 00:01:39,120 –> 00:01:42,800 that it is possible to be genuinely grateful 36 00:01:42,800 –> 00:01:44,480 for your own salvation, 37 00:01:45,379 –> 00:01:49,019 and yet curiously disinterested 38 00:01:49,019 –> 00:01:52,480 in the salvation of other people. 39 00:01:52,480 –> 00:01:54,360 And that is really the issue that God 40 00:01:54,360 –> 00:01:56,080 is addressing in Jonah’s life 41 00:01:56,080 –> 00:01:58,900 in these last verses of chapter four. 42 00:01:58,900 –> 00:02:01,839 He is teaching Jonah compassion 43 00:02:01,839 –> 00:02:05,540 as God himself has compassion. 44 00:02:05,540 –> 00:02:07,120 Now the theme of compassion, 45 00:02:07,120 –> 00:02:11,279 we pick it really up in chapter three and verse 10, 46 00:02:11,279 –> 00:02:14,360 where God saw what the people of Nineveh did 47 00:02:14,360 –> 00:02:16,360 when they turned from their evil ways, 48 00:02:16,360 –> 00:02:19,860 and it says that he had compassion on them, 49 00:02:19,860 –> 00:02:21,300 and he did not bring on them 50 00:02:21,300 –> 00:02:23,639 the destruction that he had threatened. 51 00:02:23,679 –> 00:02:26,020 And then you remember in chapter four in verse two 52 00:02:26,020 –> 00:02:27,419 that we saw earlier, 53 00:02:27,419 –> 00:02:31,220 Jonah picks up a complaint against God and he says, 54 00:02:31,220 –> 00:02:33,460 ”Oh, God, I knew that you were gracious 55 00:02:33,460 –> 00:02:35,580 and I knew that your compassionate.” 56 00:02:35,580 –> 00:02:37,940 And that, of course, was Jonah’s complaint, 57 00:02:37,940 –> 00:02:41,660 ”You are a gracious and compassionate God,” he says, 58 00:02:41,660 –> 00:02:46,240 but Jonah was not a gracious and compassionate prophet. 59 00:02:46,240 –> 00:02:48,580 And so we’re seeing that there was a huge contrast 60 00:02:48,580 –> 00:02:52,740 between the heart of God and the heart of Jonah. 61 00:02:52,740 –> 00:02:55,619 This comes home in chapter three, in verse 11, 62 00:02:55,619 –> 00:03:00,619 where God says, ”Nineveh has more than 120,000 people. 63 00:03:01,000 –> 00:03:06,000 Should I not be concerned about that great city?” 64 00:03:08,500 –> 00:03:11,399 God is concerned about the city, 65 00:03:11,399 –> 00:03:16,399 ”120,000 people and more.” he says. 66 00:03:16,399 –> 00:03:20,800 And when I look at the vast population of the city, Jonah, 67 00:03:20,839 –> 00:03:25,639 these people matter to me and they ought to matter to you. 68 00:03:27,419 –> 00:03:29,139 But the truth is actually that Jonah 69 00:03:29,139 –> 00:03:31,160 is not concerned about the city. 70 00:03:31,160 –> 00:03:32,639 What is Jonah concerned about? 71 00:03:32,639 –> 00:03:35,940 Verse 10, he is concerned about the vine. 72 00:03:38,100 –> 00:03:40,440 The vine of course was the good gift from God. 73 00:03:40,440 –> 00:03:42,940 We saw that last week, God had brought comfort 74 00:03:42,940 –> 00:03:45,039 and blessing and joy to Jonah. 75 00:03:45,039 –> 00:03:47,839 And so the contrast is very striking here. 76 00:03:47,839 –> 00:03:49,460 As you look at that word concerned, 77 00:03:49,479 –> 00:03:52,339 it comes in verse 10 and then in verse 11. 78 00:03:52,339 –> 00:03:55,440 God is concerned about the city, verse 11, 79 00:03:55,440 –> 00:04:00,240 Jonah is concerned about the vine, verse 10. 80 00:04:00,240 –> 00:04:02,000 Now I want you to think about that. 81 00:04:03,979 –> 00:04:05,740 Jonah concerned about the vine. 82 00:04:07,000 –> 00:04:08,520 God concerned about the city. 83 00:04:10,380 –> 00:04:12,179 We’re all concerned about the vine. 84 00:04:13,740 –> 00:04:16,299 We’re all concerned, and this is a natural thing 85 00:04:16,299 –> 00:04:17,579 and there is nothing wrong with it, 86 00:04:17,679 –> 00:04:21,299 that we are all concerned with the things of this life 87 00:04:21,299 –> 00:04:24,059 and the things that affect us very directly 88 00:04:24,059 –> 00:04:26,179 and very deeply in this world. 89 00:04:27,299 –> 00:04:29,920 We are concerned about our jobs, 90 00:04:29,920 –> 00:04:31,700 we’re concerned about our homes, 91 00:04:31,700 –> 00:04:33,420 we’re concerned about our investments, 92 00:04:33,420 –> 00:04:35,320 we’re concerned about our health, 93 00:04:35,320 –> 00:04:37,380 we’re concerned about our plans for the future, 94 00:04:37,380 –> 00:04:38,579 we’re concerned about the vine. 95 00:04:38,579 –> 00:04:43,220 We’re concerned about the things that are very real to us 96 00:04:43,220 –> 00:04:46,100 and significantly affect us 97 00:04:46,179 –> 00:04:51,059 in our experience of life in this world. 98 00:04:51,059 –> 00:04:53,100 Not wrong to be concerned about the vine. 99 00:04:54,260 –> 00:04:57,500 But here is God’s question surely for us today. 100 00:04:57,500 –> 00:04:59,459 Okay, you’re concerned about the vine. 101 00:05:01,100 –> 00:05:05,559 Do you share my concern also about the city? 102 00:05:05,559 –> 00:05:08,420 That’s the question that comes from verse 11. 103 00:05:10,940 –> 00:05:13,019 In all the thoughts that are running through 104 00:05:13,019 –> 00:05:16,140 our minds in these days about our own daily life 105 00:05:16,140 –> 00:05:19,679 and the things that affect us in this material world, 106 00:05:19,679 –> 00:05:23,059 do we care deeply as God cares deeply 107 00:05:24,059 –> 00:05:27,380 about the millions of people in our city 108 00:05:27,380 –> 00:05:31,660 who do not yet have saving faith in Jesus Christ? 109 00:05:31,660 –> 00:05:32,940 That’s the contrast. 110 00:05:34,019 –> 00:05:35,820 Jonah, you’re concerned about the vine. 111 00:05:35,820 –> 00:05:40,019 I’m concerned about the city. 112 00:05:40,019 –> 00:05:43,220 More than 120,000 people in Nineveh, 113 00:05:43,220 –> 00:05:48,220 folks, in our city about which God also cares, 114 00:05:49,940 –> 00:05:54,940 more than 9.5 million people in this great city 115 00:05:56,220 –> 00:05:59,859 in which God has placed us and its surrounding area. 116 00:05:59,859 –> 00:06:03,679 And many of them do not yet have saving faith 117 00:06:03,679 –> 00:06:06,760 in Jesus Christ and God cares for this city, 118 00:06:06,760 –> 00:06:08,420 and surely that is the question 119 00:06:08,420 –> 00:06:11,959 that directly comes out of Jonah in chapter four for us. 120 00:06:11,959 –> 00:06:14,859 If we share God’s heart, we will care 121 00:06:14,859 –> 00:06:19,540 not only about the vine, but about this city as well. 122 00:06:20,619 –> 00:06:23,920 So here’s a great contrast or the first great contrast. 123 00:06:23,920 –> 00:06:25,500 Jonah’s concerned about the vine, 124 00:06:25,500 –> 00:06:27,279 God is concerned about the city. 125 00:06:27,279 –> 00:06:31,459 It is so easy for us as Christian people 126 00:06:32,320 –> 00:06:34,820 living in this world with all its pressures 127 00:06:34,920 –> 00:06:38,739 that are very real, to become so concerned 128 00:06:38,739 –> 00:06:43,739 about the vine and yet strangely unmoved 129 00:06:44,940 –> 00:06:47,179 by the plight of millions of people. 130 00:06:47,179 –> 00:06:49,220 Think about this, who face eternity 131 00:06:49,220 –> 00:06:51,079 with the worm and the wind. 132 00:06:53,059 –> 00:06:55,299 And that’s the question that God is raising 133 00:06:55,299 –> 00:06:58,679 for Jonah at the end of chapter four. 134 00:06:58,679 –> 00:07:02,700 And I think for us it raises a very obvious question 135 00:07:02,720 –> 00:07:04,500 because surely all of us will see 136 00:07:04,500 –> 00:07:08,160 in some measure ourselves in Jonah here 137 00:07:08,160 –> 00:07:09,959 and we will therefore ask this question 138 00:07:09,959 –> 00:07:12,160 that comes directly from this passage. 139 00:07:12,160 –> 00:07:15,019 How then can I grow in compassion? 140 00:07:16,200 –> 00:07:20,380 How can I become less like Jonah and more like Jesus? 141 00:07:20,380 –> 00:07:24,119 How can I be less self absorbed and share the heart 142 00:07:24,119 –> 00:07:27,220 of God in relation to not just thousands 143 00:07:27,220 –> 00:07:29,700 but in our case millions of people in the city 144 00:07:29,700 –> 00:07:31,720 that we love and which he has placed us 145 00:07:31,739 –> 00:07:33,040 who do not yet know him. 146 00:07:33,040 –> 00:07:35,299 How can I have a larger heart? 147 00:07:35,299 –> 00:07:36,859 How can I care more? 148 00:07:36,859 –> 00:07:40,220 How can I grow in compassion? 149 00:07:41,980 –> 00:07:43,779 Now I want to suggest three ways 150 00:07:43,779 –> 00:07:46,380 in which we may grow in compassion 151 00:07:46,380 –> 00:07:48,459 and then we’ll ask that the Lord would do these things 152 00:07:48,459 –> 00:07:49,820 in our hearts. 153 00:07:49,820 –> 00:07:52,779 They all arise directly from the passage here. 154 00:07:52,779 –> 00:07:56,119 Three ways in which you can grow in compassion 155 00:07:56,119 –> 00:08:00,899 that better reflects the heart of God. 156 00:08:00,920 –> 00:08:02,839 Here’s the first. 157 00:08:02,839 –> 00:08:05,339 You can grow in compassion, you will grow in compassion 158 00:08:05,339 –> 00:08:10,339 as you rejoice in God’s unique creation. 159 00:08:11,519 –> 00:08:13,679 Now I want you to see that in verse 10. 160 00:08:15,179 –> 00:08:19,940 God says to Jonah, you have been concerned about the vine 161 00:08:20,980 –> 00:08:25,899 even though that you did not tend it or make it grow. 162 00:08:26,940 –> 00:08:28,820 Now the point here of course is that God 163 00:08:28,820 –> 00:08:30,140 did make the vine grow. 164 00:08:30,140 –> 00:08:32,700 God gave life to the vine and he also 165 00:08:32,700 –> 00:08:36,940 gave life to the 120,000 people and more in the city. 166 00:08:36,940 –> 00:08:39,979 And the case that God is putting to Jonah, 167 00:08:39,979 –> 00:08:41,780 the argument that God is putting to Jonah 168 00:08:41,780 –> 00:08:44,140 is simply this at this point. 169 00:08:44,140 –> 00:08:47,780 If Jonah cared about the God-given life of the vine, 170 00:08:47,780 –> 00:08:50,000 how much more should he care about the God-given 171 00:08:50,000 –> 00:08:52,979 lives of the 120,000 people in Nineveh? 172 00:08:53,960 –> 00:08:57,020 It’s the argument from the creative power of God. 173 00:08:57,780 –> 00:09:00,000 And it reminds us, therefor, that every person 174 00:09:00,000 –> 00:09:02,799 that you ever meet in your entire life 175 00:09:02,799 –> 00:09:05,500 is a unique creation of God. 176 00:09:05,500 –> 00:09:06,659 Think of this. 177 00:09:06,659 –> 00:09:10,059 God never made two snowflakes the same, 178 00:09:10,059 –> 00:09:13,179 and he certainly never made two people the same. 179 00:09:13,179 –> 00:09:15,520 Every person you meet, get to know, 180 00:09:15,520 –> 00:09:18,539 brush up against in a line in the grocery store 181 00:09:18,539 –> 00:09:21,099 is a unique creation of God. 182 00:09:21,099 –> 00:09:23,760 There is no one else exactly like that person 183 00:09:23,760 –> 00:09:25,619 never has been and never will be. 184 00:09:25,640 –> 00:09:28,859 By the way, isn’t that why people are so interesting? 185 00:09:28,859 –> 00:09:33,739 Every person you ever meet is a unique creation of God, 186 00:09:33,739 –> 00:09:35,859 the work of his hands. 187 00:09:36,979 –> 00:09:41,979 So, when you sit down next to someone on a train, 188 00:09:42,099 –> 00:09:44,260 or you’re in line in a grocery store, 189 00:09:44,260 –> 00:09:47,140 or someone else is at the next desk at school 190 00:09:47,140 –> 00:09:51,580 or the next area or desk at work or whatever it is, 191 00:09:51,580 –> 00:09:53,919 you might find it helpful to say to yourself 192 00:09:53,919 –> 00:09:55,119 something like this. 193 00:09:55,840 –> 00:09:57,580 God made this person 194 00:09:58,960 –> 00:10:01,739 and there is no one else quite like this person 195 00:10:01,739 –> 00:10:04,299 in all of the world, never has been and never will be. 196 00:10:04,299 –> 00:10:07,179 God cares about this person 197 00:10:07,179 –> 00:10:09,299 and right now in God’s amazing providence 198 00:10:09,299 –> 00:10:11,659 he has put me right next to this person 199 00:10:11,659 –> 00:10:14,440 so I should care about this person too. 200 00:10:16,020 –> 00:10:18,840 This is a very simple and yet very wonderful thing. 201 00:10:18,840 –> 00:10:21,599 Take an interest in people 202 00:10:21,760 –> 00:10:25,140 and it will expand your heart, 203 00:10:25,140 –> 00:10:28,020 you will grow in compassion. 204 00:10:28,020 –> 00:10:31,979 Instead of just ignoring someone God has placed you next to, 205 00:10:31,979 –> 00:10:33,479 take an interest in that person 206 00:10:33,479 –> 00:10:36,739 because that person is a unique creation of God 207 00:10:36,739 –> 00:10:37,960 and in that moment of time 208 00:10:37,960 –> 00:10:41,900 God has placed you right next to them. 209 00:10:43,140 –> 00:10:47,659 Every person you ever meet is a unique creation of God. 210 00:10:47,659 –> 00:10:50,559 By the way, that is true even 211 00:10:50,559 –> 00:10:54,000 of the worst people that you meet. 212 00:10:54,919 –> 00:10:57,280 Remember, Nineveh was known for torture 213 00:10:57,280 –> 00:10:59,119 and terror and violence. 214 00:10:59,119 –> 00:11:01,799 These people were notorious from their wickedness, 215 00:11:01,799 –> 00:11:04,119 remember right in the first verse, God says, 216 00:11:04,119 –> 00:11:05,799 of the book, God says that 217 00:11:05,799 –> 00:11:07,940 their wickedness had come up before Him 218 00:11:07,940 –> 00:11:10,479 and yet God says about these people 219 00:11:10,479 –> 00:11:12,039 that he has compassion on them 220 00:11:12,039 –> 00:11:13,200 and he says in verse 11, 221 00:11:13,200 –> 00:11:17,039 should I not be concerned for this great city. 222 00:11:17,099 –> 00:11:19,340 By the way, the glory of God 223 00:11:19,340 –> 00:11:23,840 is seen in the scope of his compassion. 224 00:11:23,840 –> 00:11:26,780 Psalm 145 and verse 9, 225 00:11:26,780 –> 00:11:29,299 the Lord has, is good to all. 226 00:11:29,299 –> 00:11:33,140 The Lord has compassion on all that he has made. 227 00:11:33,140 –> 00:11:36,059 His compassion is as wide as this creation. 228 00:11:38,020 –> 00:11:40,219 There is no person so bad, so wicked, 229 00:11:40,219 –> 00:11:45,179 so evil that God does not have compassion for them 230 00:11:45,179 –> 00:11:48,900 and we want to grow in reflecting that heart of God. 231 00:11:48,900 –> 00:11:49,739 By the way, 232 00:11:49,739 –> 00:11:52,900 this does not mean that God will save all people, 233 00:11:52,900 –> 00:11:56,219 but it does mean that God cares about all people. 234 00:11:56,219 –> 00:11:57,059 Think about this. 235 00:11:57,059 –> 00:12:02,059 God cares about his enemies as well as his friends. 236 00:12:02,780 –> 00:12:05,059 The Lord loves his enemies. 237 00:12:05,059 –> 00:12:08,460 The Lord does good to those who hate him. 238 00:12:08,460 –> 00:12:09,440 The Lord causes, 239 00:12:09,440 –> 00:12:12,479 Jesus says this in Matthew 5.45, 240 00:12:12,559 –> 00:12:16,340 he causes the sun to rise on the evil as well as the good, 241 00:12:16,340 –> 00:12:19,840 and he sends the rain on the unrighteous 242 00:12:19,840 –> 00:12:21,479 as well as the righteous. 243 00:12:21,479 –> 00:12:23,340 It was while we were still sinners 244 00:12:23,340 –> 00:12:26,719 that Jesus Christ died for us. 245 00:12:26,719 –> 00:12:27,619 Think about this. 246 00:12:27,619 –> 00:12:29,640 The goodness and compassion of God, 247 00:12:29,640 –> 00:12:34,260 he gives life and breath to those who use it to praise him, 248 00:12:34,260 –> 00:12:36,580 and he gives life and breath 249 00:12:36,580 –> 00:12:39,159 to those who use it to curse him. 250 00:12:40,039 –> 00:12:43,020 Every atheist is sustained every moment 251 00:12:43,020 –> 00:12:44,000 by the mercy of God. 252 00:12:44,000 –> 00:12:45,640 Isn’t that an amazing thought? 253 00:12:48,119 –> 00:12:49,640 Now, here’s what that means for us. 254 00:12:49,640 –> 00:12:53,059 Try to show kindness to all people, 255 00:12:54,640 –> 00:12:59,640 especially those whose beliefs may offend you 256 00:13:00,520 –> 00:13:03,039 or whose behavior may repulse you. 257 00:13:03,719 –> 00:13:08,719 Because if you do that, you particularly reflect 258 00:13:10,299 –> 00:13:12,479 the heart of God. 259 00:13:12,479 –> 00:13:13,780 This is what God does. 260 00:13:15,159 –> 00:13:19,000 He has compassion on all he has made, 261 00:13:19,000 –> 00:13:21,840 that is, every human person, the worst you can think of. 262 00:13:24,940 –> 00:13:26,159 How’d you grow in compassion? 263 00:13:26,159 –> 00:13:28,919 Here’s the first way you rejoice in God’s creation. 264 00:13:28,919 –> 00:13:31,080 You remember, he’s the creator. 265 00:13:31,080 –> 00:13:32,440 Take an interest in people. 266 00:13:33,880 –> 00:13:36,380 Every person you meet is an absolutely unique, 267 00:13:36,380 –> 00:13:38,280 marvelous, glorious creation 268 00:13:39,500 –> 00:13:41,000 of God. 269 00:13:41,000 –> 00:13:43,580 Here’s the second way to grow in compassion. 270 00:13:43,580 –> 00:13:46,960 Reflect on the human condition. 271 00:13:46,960 –> 00:13:50,039 First way is to rejoice in God’s unique creation. 272 00:13:50,039 –> 00:13:54,599 The second way is to reflect on our human condition. 273 00:13:54,599 –> 00:13:56,919 Notice this in verse 11. 274 00:13:56,919 –> 00:14:01,679 Nineveh has more than 120,000 people, God says, 275 00:14:01,799 –> 00:14:06,799 who cannot tell their right hand from their left. 276 00:14:08,280 –> 00:14:10,479 And then he says, should I not be concerned 277 00:14:10,479 –> 00:14:13,059 about this great city? 278 00:14:14,000 –> 00:14:16,539 Cannot tell their right hand from their left. 279 00:14:16,539 –> 00:14:17,619 Now as we mentioned before, 280 00:14:17,619 –> 00:14:19,500 it is possible that this could be 281 00:14:19,500 –> 00:14:21,200 a reference to young children. 282 00:14:21,200 –> 00:14:23,799 It could be there’s 120,000 young children 283 00:14:23,799 –> 00:14:24,960 in the city that are so young 284 00:14:24,960 –> 00:14:26,799 they’ve not even got to the point of development 285 00:14:26,799 –> 00:14:28,919 where they can tell right from left. 286 00:14:28,919 –> 00:14:31,320 But I think, and it seems that this is the consensus 287 00:14:31,320 –> 00:14:33,580 at least of those that I’ve read, 288 00:14:33,580 –> 00:14:35,679 the scholars on Jonah and so forth, 289 00:14:35,679 –> 00:14:39,000 it seems much more likely that this is a description 290 00:14:39,000 –> 00:14:43,640 of people who have lost their moral compass. 291 00:14:43,640 –> 00:14:45,559 In other words, people who are no longer able 292 00:14:45,559 –> 00:14:48,359 to discern well between good and evil 293 00:14:48,359 –> 00:14:51,159 or between right and wrong. 294 00:14:51,159 –> 00:14:52,719 You say, why would that be not knowing 295 00:14:52,719 –> 00:14:54,000 your right from your left? 296 00:14:54,000 –> 00:14:55,140 Well just think of it this way. 297 00:14:55,140 –> 00:14:58,320 We use right and left to give direction. 298 00:14:58,320 –> 00:15:00,179 You’re telling someone how to get to your house, 299 00:15:00,380 –> 00:15:01,640 you say, when you go down the street, 300 00:15:01,640 –> 00:15:02,739 you take the third on the left, 301 00:15:02,739 –> 00:15:04,580 there’s a fourth on the right around the corner, 302 00:15:04,580 –> 00:15:06,739 then you’ll find it on the right hand side. 303 00:15:07,659 –> 00:15:10,380 Now someone who doesn’t know their right from their left 304 00:15:10,380 –> 00:15:13,039 will not be able to follow your instructions, 305 00:15:13,039 –> 00:15:14,359 your directions. 306 00:15:14,359 –> 00:15:16,260 And what will happen if they don’t know their right 307 00:15:16,260 –> 00:15:18,940 from their left is that they’ll go the opposite way around 308 00:15:18,940 –> 00:15:21,539 and they will soon become completely hopelessly 309 00:15:21,539 –> 00:15:23,880 and utterly lost. 310 00:15:24,900 –> 00:15:27,400 Now I think that’s the meaning here. 311 00:15:27,400 –> 00:15:30,020 And God is saying, because they have lost 312 00:15:30,020 –> 00:15:32,239 their moral compass, because they have no idea 313 00:15:32,239 –> 00:15:34,679 of Right and Wrong, because they are so sunk 314 00:15:34,679 –> 00:15:39,359 in the culture of violence that pervades their city, 315 00:15:39,359 –> 00:15:41,080 they cannot tell their right hand from their left, 316 00:15:41,080 –> 00:15:43,700 should I not be concerned? 317 00:15:43,700 –> 00:15:44,960 Should I not have compassion 318 00:15:44,960 –> 00:15:49,539 with regards to this great city? 319 00:15:49,539 –> 00:15:52,599 That’s why I say that reflecting on the human condition 320 00:15:52,599 –> 00:15:54,799 will help you to grow in compassion, 321 00:15:55,380 –> 00:15:58,179 because it seems to me that that is the force 322 00:15:58,179 –> 00:16:02,760 of what God is saying here in verse 11. 323 00:16:02,760 –> 00:16:05,059 Here are people who cannot tell good from evil, 324 00:16:05,059 –> 00:16:07,640 here are people who confuse them, 325 00:16:07,640 –> 00:16:11,159 Isaiah 5 20 they call evil good, they call good evil. 326 00:16:11,159 –> 00:16:13,599 They are completely and utterly lost, God says, 327 00:16:13,599 –> 00:16:16,739 and I have compassion for them. 328 00:16:18,760 –> 00:16:21,400 Now, let’s reflect then for a moment on the human condition. 329 00:16:21,400 –> 00:16:23,640 What does the Bible say about the human condition? 330 00:16:23,640 –> 00:16:28,080 What is the effect of sin in human lives? 331 00:16:29,159 –> 00:16:32,000 Now, the Bible describes this in many ways, 332 00:16:32,000 –> 00:16:34,140 but let me just give to you three, 333 00:16:34,140 –> 00:16:36,760 which are probably an easy way to remember it 334 00:16:36,760 –> 00:16:39,599 and to get it lodged in our minds and hearts. 335 00:16:40,619 –> 00:16:42,640 The Bible describes our human condition, 336 00:16:42,640 –> 00:16:46,239 our fallen condition first in terms of blindness. 337 00:16:46,239 –> 00:16:49,239 2 Corinthians chapter four and verse four, 338 00:16:49,299 –> 00:16:51,359 the God of this world, that is Satan, 339 00:16:51,359 –> 00:16:54,039 has blinded the minds of unbelievers 340 00:16:54,039 –> 00:16:56,580 so that they cannot see the light of the gospel 341 00:16:56,580 –> 00:17:01,000 of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. 342 00:17:02,320 –> 00:17:04,739 They cannot see, not just they will not see, 343 00:17:04,739 –> 00:17:07,199 not just they’re obtuse, 344 00:17:07,199 –> 00:17:09,920 but the nature of our fallen human condition 345 00:17:09,920 –> 00:17:12,319 is that we cannot see the light of the gospel 346 00:17:12,319 –> 00:17:13,760 of the glory of Christ 347 00:17:13,760 –> 00:17:15,599 because the God of this age 348 00:17:15,839 –> 00:17:19,280 has blinded the minds of unbelievers. 349 00:17:19,280 –> 00:17:21,939 That blindness is real. 350 00:17:21,939 –> 00:17:25,939 Not just that the unbeliever does not want to see, 351 00:17:25,939 –> 00:17:27,920 it is that the unbeliever cannot see. 352 00:17:27,920 –> 00:17:31,359 I remember so vividly because my heart was 353 00:17:31,359 –> 00:17:33,920 with this couple, a couple in London 354 00:17:33,920 –> 00:17:35,319 in the church I pastored. 355 00:17:35,319 –> 00:17:37,219 They had two daughters and one of them 356 00:17:38,260 –> 00:17:41,239 dragged them through indescribable grief 357 00:17:41,239 –> 00:17:43,099 with her rebellion. 358 00:17:43,099 –> 00:17:44,719 And their hearts were broken over this. 359 00:17:44,900 –> 00:17:47,520 And he said to me, the dad said to me on one occasion. 360 00:17:48,640 –> 00:17:50,180 He said, you know in the agony of this, 361 00:17:50,180 –> 00:17:52,119 it has helped me to know 362 00:17:53,099 –> 00:17:55,579 that her blindness is real. 363 00:17:57,420 –> 00:17:59,520 See he’s talking to her about the gospel. 364 00:18:00,640 –> 00:18:02,099 And somehow it was worse to think 365 00:18:02,099 –> 00:18:03,699 that she was just being obtusive. 366 00:18:03,699 –> 00:18:06,060 It helped him to realize this biblical truth. 367 00:18:06,060 –> 00:18:07,400 She really doesn’t see. 368 00:18:07,400 –> 00:18:09,219 And it’s going to take a miracle of God 369 00:18:09,219 –> 00:18:10,640 because when I talked to her, 370 00:18:11,660 –> 00:18:13,140 she just doesn’t get it. 371 00:18:13,339 –> 00:18:16,439 That helped him to be more compassionate you see. 372 00:18:16,439 –> 00:18:18,439 You see how that would be. 373 00:18:19,579 –> 00:18:23,900 Secondly, our human condition is described as slavery. 374 00:18:23,900 –> 00:18:26,619 I hear the words of Jesus from John chapter eight 375 00:18:26,619 –> 00:18:28,180 in verse 34. 376 00:18:28,180 –> 00:18:29,540 I tell you the truth. 377 00:18:29,540 –> 00:18:33,020 Anyone who sins is a slave to sin. 378 00:18:33,020 –> 00:18:34,839 Again that’s slavery is real. 379 00:18:34,839 –> 00:18:36,380 What does it mean? 380 00:18:36,380 –> 00:18:39,880 It means that the sinner cannot stop sinning. 381 00:18:40,339 –> 00:18:43,479 Slavery, he does not have the power to do so. 382 00:18:43,479 –> 00:18:46,780 He may be able to change one particular form of sin 383 00:18:46,780 –> 00:18:50,760 for another, to move from one brand to another as it were, 384 00:18:50,760 –> 00:18:54,079 but he cannot stop being a sinner. 385 00:18:56,180 –> 00:18:59,800 Thirdly, the Bible describes our falling human condition 386 00:18:59,800 –> 00:19:01,319 in terms of death. 387 00:19:01,319 –> 00:19:02,680 That is Ephesians chapter two 388 00:19:02,680 –> 00:19:03,959 in verse one as for you, 389 00:19:03,959 –> 00:19:07,699 you were dead in your transgressions and your sins. 390 00:19:07,699 –> 00:19:09,560 Again that death is real 391 00:19:09,579 –> 00:19:11,839 by nature we are unresponsive to God. 392 00:19:11,839 –> 00:19:14,599 We do not have the capacity 393 00:19:14,599 –> 00:19:17,979 to change our relationship with him. 394 00:19:17,979 –> 00:19:19,660 And that of course is why Jesus said 395 00:19:19,660 –> 00:19:23,619 in John chapter six in verse 44 no one can come to me 396 00:19:23,619 –> 00:19:28,079 unless the father who sent me draws him. 397 00:19:28,079 –> 00:19:28,939 That’s a very simple way 398 00:19:28,939 –> 00:19:31,079 just to reflect on the human condition. 399 00:19:31,079 –> 00:19:34,680 What is the effect of sin in the human race 400 00:19:34,680 –> 00:19:36,920 in the life of every person born into the world? 401 00:19:36,920 –> 00:19:41,920 Here’s our condition, blind, slaves, and dead. 402 00:19:43,640 –> 00:19:46,199 Now, let me try and make that a little bit more vivid 403 00:19:46,199 –> 00:19:49,959 for you and show you how reflecting on that 404 00:19:49,959 –> 00:19:51,819 would increase your compassion. 405 00:19:53,500 –> 00:19:55,400 I’ve invented this little story, 406 00:19:55,400 –> 00:19:58,239 so please humor me with it. 407 00:19:59,959 –> 00:20:03,239 I want you to imagine for a few moments 408 00:20:03,280 –> 00:20:07,859 that you’re responsible for parking at the Superbowl, 409 00:20:07,859 –> 00:20:11,599 okay, and the cars are all jammed in 410 00:20:11,599 –> 00:20:13,439 because there is inadequate space. 411 00:20:13,439 –> 00:20:16,800 They are parked bumper to bumper so, as it were, 412 00:20:16,800 –> 00:20:18,599 nobody can move until everybody moves, 413 00:20:18,599 –> 00:20:19,599 if you see what I mean, 414 00:20:19,599 –> 00:20:21,579 and especially the folks at the front 415 00:20:21,579 –> 00:20:24,260 have to move their cars first. 416 00:20:24,260 –> 00:20:25,979 At the end of the game, 417 00:20:25,979 –> 00:20:29,400 with the car park absolutely crammed with vehicles, 418 00:20:29,479 –> 00:20:31,739 your job is to clear the car park 419 00:20:31,739 –> 00:20:36,339 as quickly and as safely as possible, 420 00:20:36,339 –> 00:20:39,660 and the job carries with it some authority 421 00:20:39,660 –> 00:20:41,839 and so you have a little uniform, 422 00:20:41,839 –> 00:20:43,239 you have a little flag, 423 00:20:43,239 –> 00:20:46,839 and they’ve even given you a little whistle, okay? 424 00:20:46,839 –> 00:20:49,920 Now, as soon as the drivers come to, 425 00:20:49,920 –> 00:20:51,280 I should say parking lot, 426 00:20:51,280 –> 00:20:53,540 but I’m gonna go back to old ways, 427 00:20:53,540 –> 00:20:54,760 if you see what I mean, 428 00:20:54,760 –> 00:20:57,180 as soon as the drivers are back in the car park, 429 00:20:57,199 –> 00:20:59,500 you’re looking to see who’s in the front row 430 00:20:59,500 –> 00:21:01,099 who can move their car first, 431 00:21:01,099 –> 00:21:03,260 and you notice in one of the sections 432 00:21:03,260 –> 00:21:04,660 for which you are responsible 433 00:21:04,660 –> 00:21:08,520 that there are three cars that now have drivers in them, 434 00:21:08,520 –> 00:21:10,239 and so you flag them over 435 00:21:10,239 –> 00:21:12,479 and you want to get them into the exit lane 436 00:21:12,479 –> 00:21:14,979 so that you can get that whole section moving, 437 00:21:14,979 –> 00:21:16,859 but when you flag them, nothing happens, 438 00:21:16,859 –> 00:21:18,060 so you blow your whistle, 439 00:21:19,260 –> 00:21:22,140 nothing happens. 440 00:21:22,140 –> 00:21:24,920 Then you look more closely and you see something strange. 441 00:21:24,920 –> 00:21:26,800 These three guys are sitting in their cars, 442 00:21:26,800 –> 00:21:28,540 but none of them have started their engines. 443 00:21:28,540 –> 00:21:29,380 They think, what in the world? 444 00:21:29,380 –> 00:21:31,780 Do they want to just stay here for a picnic 445 00:21:31,780 –> 00:21:35,040 or why don’t they know we gotta move? 446 00:21:37,219 –> 00:21:39,540 By now the folks in the cars behind 447 00:21:39,540 –> 00:21:41,160 are beginning to get frustrated. 448 00:21:41,160 –> 00:21:42,819 Some of them are sounding their horns, 449 00:21:42,819 –> 00:21:44,900 some of these people are beginning to get angry. 450 00:21:44,900 –> 00:21:47,099 Why are these guys at the front not moving 451 00:21:47,099 –> 00:21:49,500 and why are you as the person-in-charge 452 00:21:49,500 –> 00:21:51,420 not getting them going? 453 00:21:51,420 –> 00:21:53,420 You start getting frustrated with yourself 454 00:21:53,420 –> 00:21:56,180 as the noise increases, so you walk over to the cars, 455 00:21:56,180 –> 00:21:58,400 that leads to even more blaring of horns 456 00:21:58,400 –> 00:22:01,319 because it takes you some while to get over there 457 00:22:01,319 –> 00:22:03,260 and as you move, people begin to realize 458 00:22:03,260 –> 00:22:05,239 that there’s a problem. 459 00:22:05,239 –> 00:22:07,160 Now some folks have rolled down their windows. 460 00:22:07,160 –> 00:22:09,260 See, I do it with the wrong hand. 461 00:22:09,260 –> 00:22:10,939 It’s this side and… 462 00:22:10,939 –> 00:22:15,319 They rolled down the windows 463 00:22:15,319 –> 00:22:18,880 and they’re shouting at you and get them moving, 464 00:22:18,880 –> 00:22:19,719 what are you doing? 465 00:22:19,719 –> 00:22:21,300 Come on man and so forth and so on. 466 00:22:21,300 –> 00:22:24,660 You go to the first car and you bang on 467 00:22:25,060 –> 00:22:28,979 the windscreen, the windshield, the windscreen 468 00:22:28,979 –> 00:22:30,280 aww nevermind. 469 00:22:30,280 –> 00:22:33,459 Should never have done this and you say to this guy, 470 00:22:33,459 –> 00:22:36,160 get moving, get moving. 471 00:22:36,160 –> 00:22:40,140 The driver rolls down his windscreen, 472 00:22:40,140 –> 00:22:42,099 he said I don’t know what’s happened. 473 00:22:43,099 –> 00:22:46,900 He said I came out the game, I got into the car 474 00:22:46,900 –> 00:22:49,959 and it’s like everything’s gone dark. 475 00:22:49,959 –> 00:22:52,260 I can’t see. 476 00:22:52,900 –> 00:22:55,979 I can’t move my vehicle. 477 00:22:55,979 –> 00:22:57,500 I’m blind. 478 00:23:00,060 –> 00:23:01,719 You don’t have a clue what to say to the man 479 00:23:01,719 –> 00:23:04,780 so everyone’s blaring their horns 480 00:23:04,780 –> 00:23:07,939 and so you move to the next car. 481 00:23:07,939 –> 00:23:10,380 You bang on that windscreen 482 00:23:10,380 –> 00:23:15,380 and the man tries to roll down his window 483 00:23:16,699 –> 00:23:18,260 and you realize he’s got a problem, 484 00:23:18,260 –> 00:23:19,800 there are handcuffs on him. 485 00:23:20,760 –> 00:23:24,979 And he says, I don’t know what’s going on here 486 00:23:24,979 –> 00:23:27,619 and he said but I got into my car 487 00:23:27,619 –> 00:23:29,939 and some guy was lurking in the back seat, 488 00:23:29,939 –> 00:23:33,219 pounced on me, put me in these handcuffs 489 00:23:33,219 –> 00:23:35,300 and then got out and ran. 490 00:23:35,300 –> 00:23:36,760 Don’t know who he is, where he came from 491 00:23:36,760 –> 00:23:39,599 but I’m stuck, I can’t move my car. 492 00:23:39,599 –> 00:23:40,459 I’m bound. 493 00:23:43,119 –> 00:23:45,680 By now there’s nearly a riot going on 494 00:23:45,680 –> 00:23:48,979 amongst the guys in the pickup trucks behind. 495 00:23:49,459 –> 00:23:50,300 Or not. 496 00:23:52,119 –> 00:23:53,780 Horns are now blazing. 497 00:23:53,780 –> 00:23:55,880 Guys are standing on the back of pickup trucks 498 00:23:55,880 –> 00:23:57,719 and they’re waving fists, they’re shouting at you, 499 00:23:57,719 –> 00:24:00,119 they’re shouting at the guys in the car. 500 00:24:00,119 –> 00:24:01,680 So you’re thinking I better get something moving here 501 00:24:01,680 –> 00:24:04,219 so you move to the third car. 502 00:24:04,219 –> 00:24:05,619 Bang on the window. 503 00:24:05,619 –> 00:24:07,760 Sir, you see, these guys over here have a problem. 504 00:24:07,760 –> 00:24:08,900 They can’t move their vehicles. 505 00:24:08,900 –> 00:24:10,699 I need you to move your vehicle right now. 506 00:24:10,699 –> 00:24:12,040 There is no response. 507 00:24:12,040 –> 00:24:15,540 You know what’s coming, don’t you? 508 00:24:15,540 –> 00:24:16,439 He looked through the window 509 00:24:16,439 –> 00:24:18,859 and he slumped over the wheel. 510 00:24:19,140 –> 00:24:21,479 Because this driver is dead. 511 00:24:24,540 –> 00:24:25,859 Now I want you to think about that picture. 512 00:24:25,859 –> 00:24:29,780 Sometimes a picture is better than 1,000 words. 513 00:24:29,780 –> 00:24:33,619 Crowds of people shouting abuse, blaring horns, 514 00:24:36,079 –> 00:24:39,380 saying what they’ll do to the drivers in the front row 515 00:24:39,380 –> 00:24:42,300 if they don’t get moving right now. 516 00:24:43,719 –> 00:24:45,640 But you have compassion. 517 00:24:46,939 –> 00:24:47,780 Why? 518 00:24:49,199 –> 00:24:52,400 Because you understand the problem. 519 00:24:52,400 –> 00:24:55,260 One of these guys is blind. 520 00:24:55,260 –> 00:24:57,520 One of these guys is bound. 521 00:24:58,640 –> 00:25:01,140 And one of these guys is dead. 522 00:25:04,060 –> 00:25:04,900 Do you know what? 523 00:25:04,900 –> 00:25:06,619 There is a kind of Christianity. 524 00:25:06,619 –> 00:25:08,079 You’ll know what I’m talking about here. 525 00:25:08,079 –> 00:25:11,319 There is a kind of Christianity that is angry 526 00:25:11,319 –> 00:25:14,319 with the world about its sinfulness. 527 00:25:14,599 –> 00:25:15,420 Sinfulness. 528 00:25:17,300 –> 00:25:20,119 It makes a lot of noise. 529 00:25:20,119 –> 00:25:22,459 A kind of preaching 530 00:25:22,459 –> 00:25:26,180 that rails against the evils of our time 531 00:25:26,180 –> 00:25:30,359 and sometimes seems even to find pleasure in doing so. 532 00:25:32,560 –> 00:25:36,719 It is angry because it does not adequately reflect 533 00:25:37,520 –> 00:25:39,439 on the human condition. 534 00:25:40,839 –> 00:25:44,099 But, by nature, we are blind and bound 535 00:25:44,439 –> 00:25:48,000 We cannot see by nature the glory of Christ. 536 00:25:48,000 –> 00:25:49,880 We do not have the power to stop sinning 537 00:25:49,880 –> 00:25:53,939 and we will not come to Christ and follow Him 538 00:25:53,939 –> 00:25:54,859 by nature. 539 00:25:56,760 –> 00:25:58,880 By the way, that is true of every person 540 00:25:58,880 –> 00:26:02,699 born into the world, including your children. 541 00:26:04,060 –> 00:26:05,760 Think about that. 542 00:26:05,760 –> 00:26:08,500 In other words, reflecting on the human condition 543 00:26:08,500 –> 00:26:12,859 will affect the way you parent your children. 544 00:26:13,040 –> 00:26:16,280 It will help you to grow in compassion. 545 00:26:17,380 –> 00:26:19,640 It will make you less like Jonah. 546 00:26:19,640 –> 00:26:23,060 Remember, Jonah was a very moral person 547 00:26:23,060 –> 00:26:24,319 who was very angry. 548 00:26:24,319 –> 00:26:27,060 There are lots of parents who are very moral 549 00:26:27,060 –> 00:26:28,319 and very angry. 550 00:26:30,160 –> 00:26:32,660 We don’t want to be like that. 551 00:26:33,920 –> 00:26:38,079 We have to be less like Jonah and more like Jesus. 552 00:26:39,459 –> 00:26:42,319 More like the Lord who has compassion on people 553 00:26:42,400 –> 00:26:46,500 who cannot tell their right hand from their left. 554 00:26:48,079 –> 00:26:49,260 It’s very practical stuff. 555 00:26:49,260 –> 00:26:53,040 Think about someone who really annoys you. 556 00:26:53,040 –> 00:26:56,859 You get upset with them, you feel impatient with them, 557 00:26:56,859 –> 00:27:00,219 you know that you need to grow in compassion for them, 558 00:27:00,219 –> 00:27:01,300 here’s how you can do it. 559 00:27:01,300 –> 00:27:03,800 Reflect on the human condition. 560 00:27:06,400 –> 00:27:08,180 And you will grow in compassion. 561 00:27:08,180 –> 00:27:09,020 It works. 562 00:27:09,920 –> 00:27:11,719 It will happen, you will grow in compassion. 563 00:27:11,739 –> 00:27:13,560 You’ll say, well, wait a minute. 564 00:27:13,560 –> 00:27:17,239 What if the person who really annoys me is a Christian? 565 00:27:18,119 –> 00:27:19,719 Well, here’s the answer to that. 566 00:27:22,160 –> 00:27:27,160 Though God has given us sight, we only see in part. 567 00:27:28,199 –> 00:27:29,020 Isn’t that right? 568 00:27:30,099 –> 00:27:32,719 Though we as Christians have the spirit, 569 00:27:32,719 –> 00:27:35,319 we still battle with the flesh. 570 00:27:35,319 –> 00:27:37,079 That’s true of every Christian you ever meet. 571 00:27:37,079 –> 00:27:39,420 It’s true of you and true of me. 572 00:27:39,420 –> 00:27:40,760 And though we are new creations, 573 00:27:40,780 –> 00:27:44,140 we are not yet what we one day will be. 574 00:27:45,180 –> 00:27:48,900 So reflect on that in relation to our Christian 575 00:27:48,900 –> 00:27:50,540 brothers and sisters, and it will help us 576 00:27:50,540 –> 00:27:52,199 to be more patient with one another. 577 00:27:52,199 –> 00:27:54,739 It will help you to grow in compassion. 578 00:27:54,739 –> 00:27:57,339 Listen to what the Lord says in Psalm 103 579 00:27:57,339 –> 00:27:58,939 that was read for us earlier, 580 00:27:58,939 –> 00:28:00,780 and it’s said to those who fear him, 581 00:28:00,780 –> 00:28:02,380 in other words to his own people. 582 00:28:02,380 –> 00:28:05,300 To, in New Testament terms, to believers. 583 00:28:05,300 –> 00:28:10,300 As a father has compassion on his children, 584 00:28:10,300 –> 00:28:14,479 so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. 585 00:28:15,739 –> 00:28:16,979 That’s his own family. 586 00:28:18,380 –> 00:28:20,199 He has compassion on them, why? 587 00:28:20,199 –> 00:28:22,439 Because he knows how we are formed, 588 00:28:22,439 –> 00:28:27,180 and he remembers that we, his own children, are dust. 589 00:28:27,180 –> 00:28:29,640 We need to remember that about one another as well 590 00:28:29,640 –> 00:28:33,660 as the Lord graciously remembers it about us. 591 00:28:35,280 –> 00:28:37,339 Now, I wonder just before we move more briefly 592 00:28:37,339 –> 00:28:38,479 to the last thing, 593 00:28:38,479 –> 00:28:40,599 has your heart ever really been gripped 594 00:28:40,599 –> 00:28:42,560 by the compassion of God? 595 00:28:43,979 –> 00:28:47,339 I have been so struck by this in verse 11, 596 00:28:47,339 –> 00:28:49,300 I learned something I never knew before 597 00:28:49,300 –> 00:28:52,020 just reading around on this verse. 598 00:28:52,020 –> 00:28:54,560 When God says, Nineveh has more than 120,000 people 599 00:28:54,560 –> 00:28:56,500 who cannot tell their right hand from their left, 600 00:28:56,500 –> 00:29:01,500 and should I not be concerned for that great city? 601 00:29:03,439 –> 00:29:08,239 I found this week that the word translated concerned 602 00:29:09,119 –> 00:29:12,579 literally means, its literal translation 603 00:29:12,579 –> 00:29:17,599 is to have tears in one’s eyes. 604 00:29:19,040 –> 00:29:21,599 The root of the word means to overflow. 605 00:29:22,920 –> 00:29:25,459 You can see why tears comes from that 606 00:29:25,459 –> 00:29:28,760 in reference to the eyes overflowing. 607 00:29:30,520 –> 00:29:35,099 So you could translate that last verse 608 00:29:35,099 –> 00:29:37,459 very vividly like this, 609 00:29:37,459 –> 00:29:42,459 Nineveh has more than 120,000 people 610 00:29:42,859 –> 00:29:45,760 who cannot tell their right hand from their left 611 00:29:45,760 –> 00:29:49,160 should I not have tears in my eyes over that. 612 00:29:51,500 –> 00:29:52,520 That’s what God says. 613 00:29:53,780 –> 00:29:58,500 Can’t read that without thinking about God 614 00:29:58,500 –> 00:30:00,699 with tears in his eyes as our Lord Jesus 615 00:30:00,699 –> 00:30:02,160 comes over another city. 616 00:30:03,140 –> 00:30:05,560 Do you remember how Jesus wept over 617 00:30:05,560 –> 00:30:10,300 the city of Jerusalem with its tens of thousands of people 618 00:30:10,300 –> 00:30:13,060 and he says oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, 619 00:30:14,500 –> 00:30:16,979 longs that they would have come to him, 620 00:30:16,979 –> 00:30:21,260 oh that you would have known this day 621 00:30:21,260 –> 00:30:26,260 what brings you peace but it is now hidden from your eyes. 622 00:30:29,140 –> 00:30:30,560 God’s heart for the city. 623 00:30:33,000 –> 00:30:35,560 Do you feel the power of this? 624 00:30:35,560 –> 00:30:40,560 God says to mature believer my eyes 625 00:30:41,199 –> 00:30:44,800 are filled with tears over the city 626 00:30:46,579 –> 00:30:49,800 and your eyes are filled with tears over the vine. 627 00:30:53,400 –> 00:30:57,060 How can Jonah get a heart that is more like God’s heart? 628 00:30:57,060 –> 00:31:02,060 Jonah rejoice in the uniqueness of God’s creature 629 00:31:02,199 –> 00:31:04,920 and creation again, didn’t just give life to plants, 630 00:31:04,920 –> 00:31:07,400 he gives life to every person in this city, 631 00:31:07,400 –> 00:31:12,400 he gives life to 9.5 million people in this city 632 00:31:15,160 –> 00:31:18,199 and not one of them is a duplicate of another. 633 00:31:18,199 –> 00:31:20,199 Everyone the creative work of God. 634 00:31:21,540 –> 00:31:26,540 And reflect on the human condition 9.5 million people, 635 00:31:27,020 –> 00:31:28,739 many who do not yet know Christ 636 00:31:28,760 –> 00:31:32,979 who are still blind and bound and spiritually dead. 637 00:31:34,719 –> 00:31:39,099 God says should I not have should I not then have, 638 00:31:39,099 –> 00:31:42,099 should we not then have tears in our eyes 639 00:31:42,099 –> 00:31:45,000 over this great city? 640 00:31:47,400 –> 00:31:51,359 There’s one more way in which we can grow in compassion 641 00:31:51,359 –> 00:31:55,540 and it’s this, first is rejoice in God’s unique creation, 642 00:31:55,540 –> 00:31:57,560 the second reflect on the human condition, 643 00:31:58,439 –> 00:32:03,479 and third engage in Christ’s redeeming mission. 644 00:32:03,479 –> 00:32:06,579 I wanted to show you why I say this 645 00:32:06,579 –> 00:32:08,819 at the end this morning. 646 00:32:09,859 –> 00:32:12,640 If you look back at verse five, 647 00:32:12,640 –> 00:32:16,800 please notice that Jonah’s heart grew cold 648 00:32:17,900 –> 00:32:21,359 when he was disconnected from the work that God was doing. 649 00:32:22,479 –> 00:32:26,839 Verse five, he went out and he sat down at a place 650 00:32:26,859 –> 00:32:31,660 east of the city and he waited to see what would happen. 651 00:32:31,660 –> 00:32:33,239 Isn’t that an amazing phrase? 652 00:32:33,239 –> 00:32:38,199 He waited to see what would happen, 653 00:32:40,040 –> 00:32:41,339 and his heart shriveled. 654 00:32:42,459 –> 00:32:45,479 His heart grew cold when he was disconnected 655 00:32:45,479 –> 00:32:47,280 from the work that God was doing, 656 00:32:47,280 –> 00:32:49,140 and isn’t this an amazing picture? 657 00:32:50,099 –> 00:32:52,640 That God is at work by the Holy Spirit 658 00:32:52,640 –> 00:32:54,839 in a sweeping revival that is going through 659 00:32:54,839 –> 00:32:55,760 the city of Nineveh. 660 00:32:55,800 –> 00:32:59,000 People are coming in their tens of thousands 661 00:32:59,000 –> 00:33:01,160 to repentance and they’re coming to faith, 662 00:33:01,160 –> 00:33:03,079 but Jonah is outside the city. 663 00:33:03,079 –> 00:33:04,560 He is disconnected. 664 00:33:04,560 –> 00:33:08,339 He is passive, he is removed, he is distant 665 00:33:08,339 –> 00:33:10,619 from the work that God is doing 666 00:33:10,619 –> 00:33:15,520 just a few hundred yards away inside the city walls. 667 00:33:15,520 –> 00:33:17,439 That was one more contrast that I want us to see 668 00:33:17,439 –> 00:33:19,219 here in these remaining moments, 669 00:33:19,219 –> 00:33:22,839 and it’s the contrast between the King and the Prophet, 670 00:33:22,839 –> 00:33:25,099 and I found this very powerful and convicting 671 00:33:25,180 –> 00:33:26,880 to my own heart. 672 00:33:26,880 –> 00:33:28,540 It speaks especially to those of us 673 00:33:28,540 –> 00:33:30,839 who’ve known the Lord for a number of years. 674 00:33:32,380 –> 00:33:35,459 We’re told exactly the same word is used 675 00:33:35,459 –> 00:33:37,619 about the King and the Prophet. 676 00:33:37,619 –> 00:33:40,780 That both of them sat down, 677 00:33:40,780 –> 00:33:42,239 and it happens at the same time, 678 00:33:42,239 –> 00:33:43,880 although it’s in two different chapters, 679 00:33:43,880 –> 00:33:47,079 that I want you to see these two connected together 680 00:33:47,079 –> 00:33:49,359 because they were connected together in time. 681 00:33:49,359 –> 00:33:50,959 The King sat down in the city 682 00:33:50,959 –> 00:33:53,859 and Jonah sat down outside of the city. 683 00:33:53,859 –> 00:33:56,619 The picture is compelling when you see the contrast, 684 00:33:56,619 –> 00:33:58,619 these two men, a King and a Prophet, 685 00:33:58,619 –> 00:34:01,719 and they assume the same posture at the same time, 686 00:34:01,719 –> 00:34:06,500 but with very, very different meaning and significance. 687 00:34:06,500 –> 00:34:08,260 Look at chapter three and verse six, 688 00:34:08,260 –> 00:34:10,500 and I want to paint the picture of the King. 689 00:34:12,100 –> 00:34:13,699 When the King hears God’s words, 690 00:34:13,699 –> 00:34:16,060 chapter three and verse six, 691 00:34:17,000 –> 00:34:18,500 try and picture it now. 692 00:34:18,500 –> 00:34:20,439 He rises from His throne, 693 00:34:20,439 –> 00:34:25,439 he takes off his royal robes, 694 00:34:25,780 –> 00:34:30,500 he covers himself with sackcloth, 695 00:34:30,500 –> 00:34:33,360 and he sat down in the dust. 696 00:34:33,360 –> 00:34:36,280 That’s Jonah chapter three and verse six. 697 00:34:36,280 –> 00:34:37,860 Picture this King. 698 00:34:37,860 –> 00:34:40,239 His robe has been cast aside, 699 00:34:40,239 –> 00:34:42,239 he’s sitting down in dust, 700 00:34:42,239 –> 00:34:44,080 he’s covered in sackloth, 701 00:34:44,080 –> 00:34:45,120 and what is he doing? 702 00:34:45,120 –> 00:34:46,320 He’s praying. 703 00:34:46,320 –> 00:34:48,379 That’s the significance of the sackcloth. 704 00:34:49,379 –> 00:34:50,860 He is calling the people 705 00:34:50,860 –> 00:34:52,679 in the verse that follows to repentance, 706 00:34:52,679 –> 00:34:54,239 he’s calling the people to prayer 707 00:34:54,239 –> 00:34:56,060 and he is leading the way. 708 00:34:56,060 –> 00:34:59,080 He’s come to believe the word of God for himself. 709 00:35:00,600 –> 00:35:03,659 And so he sits down in prayer and intercession 710 00:35:03,659 –> 00:35:06,280 for his own city and for its salvation. 711 00:35:07,699 –> 00:35:09,379 Now, look at chapter four and verse five, 712 00:35:09,379 –> 00:35:10,639 see the same word. 713 00:35:11,459 –> 00:35:12,780 Jonah goes out. 714 00:35:12,780 –> 00:35:16,040 In chapter four and verse five he sat down. 715 00:35:16,879 –> 00:35:19,580 And he sits down at a place east of the city. 716 00:35:20,840 –> 00:35:23,199 There he made himself a shelter 717 00:35:23,199 –> 00:35:27,560 and he sat in its shade and he waited to see 718 00:35:27,560 –> 00:35:31,360 what would happen to the city. 719 00:35:33,219 –> 00:35:35,520 Now folks, this is an amazing contrast. 720 00:35:36,600 –> 00:35:39,879 By definition, the king is a new believer. 721 00:35:39,879 –> 00:35:41,919 He’s only just heard the word of God, 722 00:35:41,919 –> 00:35:44,879 he’s only just come to repentance in faith himself 723 00:35:44,879 –> 00:35:47,340 and the first action as a new believer 724 00:35:47,340 –> 00:35:49,639 is that he gets down in the dust 725 00:35:49,639 –> 00:35:53,500 and starts pleading for God’s mercy upon his own city. 726 00:35:54,919 –> 00:35:58,879 And Jonah the prophet who has been going around 727 00:35:58,879 –> 00:36:01,399 with the word of God all over the place for years, 728 00:36:01,399 –> 00:36:03,899 a mature believer, what’s he doing? 729 00:36:03,899 –> 00:36:08,560 He’s sitting outside the city, passive, disconnected, 730 00:36:08,560 –> 00:36:10,800 waiting to see what will happen. 731 00:36:11,739 –> 00:36:15,560 Hearts grow cold on the sidelines of ministry. 732 00:36:19,260 –> 00:36:23,260 And you know I’ve been a Christian for 45 years, 733 00:36:25,040 –> 00:36:26,500 so for all of us who’ve been Christians 734 00:36:26,500 –> 00:36:28,060 and known the Lord for a longer time, 735 00:36:28,060 –> 00:36:32,060 is it not true that sometimes new believers 736 00:36:35,080 –> 00:36:38,479 have a passion for Christ and a passion 737 00:36:39,479 –> 00:36:42,199 for bringing the gospel to others 738 00:36:43,699 –> 00:36:47,860 that convicts us of our own coldness and complacency 739 00:36:48,919 –> 00:36:53,080 and familiarity with the glorious and eternal truths of God. 740 00:36:54,800 –> 00:36:56,479 And, as I’ve looked at this, I just said, 741 00:36:56,479 –> 00:36:59,179 oh Lord, make me more like the King 742 00:36:59,179 –> 00:37:01,020 than like the prophet. 743 00:37:03,219 –> 00:37:05,040 Make me more like this new believer 744 00:37:05,040 –> 00:37:08,780 who pleads for God’s mercy on the city 745 00:37:08,780 –> 00:37:11,040 than the prophet who’s known for his ministry 746 00:37:11,040 –> 00:37:15,100 of the word of God and actually is strangely detached 747 00:37:15,100 –> 00:37:17,100 and really doesn’t care. 748 00:37:19,159 –> 00:37:21,340 I formed just this little prayer for myself. 749 00:37:21,340 –> 00:37:25,520 Lord, as I get older, don’t let my heart grow colder. 750 00:37:29,139 –> 00:37:31,800 And I think we need that prayer. 751 00:37:32,560 –> 00:37:35,300 Folks, let me just end with this. 752 00:37:36,840 –> 00:37:39,659 Compassion is more than a feeling. 753 00:37:41,000 –> 00:37:43,340 Compassion is love in action. 754 00:37:46,139 –> 00:37:49,979 And you see God’s compassion in his relentless 755 00:37:52,580 –> 00:37:56,399 moves to bring salvation and grace to Nineveh, 756 00:37:57,780 –> 00:37:59,919 calling the prophets, sending the fish to bring him back, 757 00:37:59,979 –> 00:38:01,600 sending the storm, all of that. 758 00:38:03,100 –> 00:38:05,159 Compassion is more than a feeling. 759 00:38:06,739 –> 00:38:08,419 Compassion is love in action. 760 00:38:10,620 –> 00:38:14,620 And it’s seen in its fullness in God. 761 00:38:14,620 –> 00:38:17,459 Not only sending Jonah to Nineveh, 762 00:38:17,459 –> 00:38:19,879 but sending his son into the world. 763 00:38:21,100 –> 00:38:22,719 For God’s compassion is not simply 764 00:38:22,719 –> 00:38:24,899 having tears in his eyes over the city. 765 00:38:26,320 –> 00:38:28,760 It is moving to do something about it. 766 00:38:29,479 –> 00:38:31,959 That is why God, who so loved the world, 767 00:38:31,959 –> 00:38:33,399 gave his one and only Son, 768 00:38:33,399 –> 00:38:35,679 that whoever believes in him should not perish, 769 00:38:35,679 –> 00:38:37,239 but have everlasting life, 770 00:38:37,239 –> 00:38:41,939 because it’s not just emotion, it’s action. 771 00:38:43,280 –> 00:38:45,540 Rosemary Nixon, who’s written an excellent commentary 772 00:38:45,540 –> 00:38:47,040 on the book of Jonah, she says this. 773 00:38:47,040 –> 00:38:48,840 I find it very compelling, she says, 774 00:38:48,840 –> 00:38:51,800 love and labor are inseparable. 775 00:38:52,719 –> 00:38:55,879 We love that for which we labor, 776 00:38:55,919 –> 00:39:00,540 and we labor for that which we love. 777 00:39:01,840 –> 00:39:04,000 So, we’re learning from this, 778 00:39:04,000 –> 00:39:06,120 engage in God’s work, 779 00:39:07,479 –> 00:39:09,939 get involved in what God is doing, 780 00:39:11,159 –> 00:39:15,199 and you will find that you grow in compassion. 781 00:39:17,340 –> 00:39:18,879 Let me just say this last word, 782 00:39:18,879 –> 00:39:21,500 in these days when we as a local church 783 00:39:21,500 –> 00:39:23,840 are talking about how we might seek 784 00:39:23,840 –> 00:39:26,399 to double our impact for Christ, 785 00:39:28,800 –> 00:39:31,959 it would be very easy for some of us 786 00:39:31,959 –> 00:39:32,899 to sit back and say, 787 00:39:32,899 –> 00:39:36,540 well it’ll be very interesting to see what happens. 788 00:39:38,320 –> 00:39:41,260 And I plead with you, please don’t go there. 789 00:39:41,260 –> 00:39:43,159 Because that’s exactly what Jonah did. 790 00:39:43,159 –> 00:39:44,000 Makes a little shelter, 791 00:39:44,000 –> 00:39:46,399 and he said it’d be very interesting to see what happens. 792 00:39:47,639 –> 00:39:48,800 Please don’t go there. 793 00:39:49,760 –> 00:39:51,219 Please don’t be passive. 794 00:39:52,139 –> 00:39:55,679 Please be like the king, not like the prophet. 795 00:39:57,179 –> 00:40:00,020 Please give yourself to prayer for this church 796 00:40:00,020 –> 00:40:01,280 and for the city. 797 00:40:02,520 –> 00:40:04,340 Please ask God in a fresh way, 798 00:40:04,340 –> 00:40:06,760 however long you have been a Christian, 799 00:40:06,760 –> 00:40:08,080 however old you are, 800 00:40:08,080 –> 00:40:13,080 please ask God in a fresh way as a new believer would. 801 00:40:13,780 –> 00:40:17,419 Lord, how can you have me engaged in your redeeming work 802 00:40:17,419 –> 00:40:19,060 at this season of my life? 803 00:40:19,139 –> 00:40:23,219 Choose the company of those who are working for him 804 00:40:23,219 –> 00:40:27,820 rather than the company of those who are simply watching. 805 00:40:29,219 –> 00:40:33,699 For Jesus said, as the Father has sent me, 806 00:40:33,699 –> 00:40:37,040 so I am sending you. 807 00:40:39,199 –> 00:40:44,199 Father, please expand this all-too-small 808 00:40:45,199 –> 00:40:49,659 and all-too-cold human heart. 809 00:40:52,360 –> 00:40:55,699 Please make me less like Jonah and more like Jesus. 810 00:40:58,939 –> 00:41:00,439 Please help me, in a fresh way, 811 00:41:00,439 –> 00:41:02,719 to take an interest in other people, 812 00:41:02,719 –> 00:41:04,860 remembering that every person I meet, 813 00:41:04,860 –> 00:41:08,479 however short or however well I get to know them, 814 00:41:10,040 –> 00:41:12,879 they’re a unique creation of your masterful hand. 815 00:41:15,159 –> 00:41:17,260 Please help me to grow in compassion 816 00:41:17,260 –> 00:41:20,219 by thinking more deeply about the human condition. 817 00:41:23,199 –> 00:41:26,879 Please give me more patience with my brothers and sisters. 818 00:41:30,600 –> 00:41:33,800 Please make me more like the King than like the Prophet. 819 00:41:36,280 –> 00:41:40,520 Please teach me, as the King discovered, 820 00:41:40,620 –> 00:41:44,159 a reflection of tears in the eyes over a city 821 00:41:44,159 –> 00:41:46,520 that doesn’t know its left hand from its right. 822 00:41:48,120 –> 00:41:51,520 Show me a little more of that great compassion of your heart 823 00:41:53,419 –> 00:41:56,060 for the city in which you have placed me and us. 824 00:41:58,060 –> 00:42:02,520 Lord, by your grace, make us less like Jonah 825 00:42:04,219 –> 00:42:05,580 and more like Jesus 826 00:42:06,979 –> 00:42:09,040 for we ask these things in Christ’s name. 827 00:42:09,040 –> 00:42:10,699 Amen.