100:00:00,280 –> 00:00:08,460What do Jonah and Asaph and the older brother in Jesus’ story have in common?200:00:08,460 –> 00:00:12,920They’re all hard workers, they’re all obedient,300:00:12,920 –> 00:00:17,459they are all marvelous servants fulfilling400:00:17,459 –> 00:00:20,000everything that they have been called to do.500:00:20,000 –> 00:00:25,020They stretch themselves out in serving, just like some of us.600:00:25,160 –> 00:00:28,440Welcome to Open the Bible with Paul Sturgeon.700:00:28,459 –> 00:00:30,860Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith.800:00:31,000 –> 00:00:31,860I’m David Pick.900:00:32,220 –> 00:00:33,939Glad you could join us today.1000:00:33,959 –> 00:00:37,820And Colin, so, there are similarities between these three characters.1100:00:37,820 –> 00:00:40,860But we’re going to find that there are even more similarities.1200:00:40,860 –> 00:00:42,180Yeah, here’s the problem.1300:00:42,180 –> 00:00:46,439They all ended up being filled with resentment, or at least at one stage that was true of1400:00:46,439 –> 00:00:47,439Jonah.1500:00:47,439 –> 00:00:52,480At one stage that was true of Asaph, who was a choir leader, a director of worship.1600:00:52,480 –> 00:00:59,840But there are folks who are in ministry and who somehow end up being filled with resentment1700:00:59,840 –> 00:01:02,880and God lays hold of their lives and turns them around.1800:01:02,880 –> 00:01:05,379And the elder brother in Jesus story’s just like that.1900:01:05,379 –> 00:01:06,379Loyally serving.2000:01:06,379 –> 00:01:07,559I’m doing all this work.2100:01:07,559 –> 00:01:11,680And, Father, why don’t you reward me and kill the fatted cat for me.2200:01:11,680 –> 00:01:16,300The guy’s full of resentment and that’s precisely where we don’t want to be.2300:01:16,300 –> 00:01:21,360So if someone listening today may feel like that, what’s the right response to that?2400:01:21,480 –> 00:01:25,860Well that’s where the story of Jonah is such a marvelous encouragement because Jonah was2500:01:25,860 –> 00:01:28,320there and God did not let him go.2600:01:28,320 –> 00:01:33,080We keep coming back to that marvelous truth and God touches his heart so that by the end2700:01:33,080 –> 00:01:38,099of his life he’s able to write the story that we have in the book of Jonah.2800:01:38,099 –> 00:01:39,660His life testimony.2900:01:39,660 –> 00:01:44,059And at the end, or rather it’s right in the middle, but the climax of the story is him3000:01:44,059 –> 00:01:49,879saying salvation comes from the Lord and what he’s saying there is that God laid hold of3100:01:50,480 –> 00:01:56,879me as a faithful servant who ended up in resentment and God brought me through that and he3200:01:56,980 –> 00:01:57,779didn’t let me go.3300:01:57,779 –> 00:02:01,680We’re going to hear about that resentment in the story of Jonah today.3400:02:01,680 –> 00:02:06,800We’re looking at chapter four so join us there if you can as we begin the message Resent3500:02:06,800 –> 00:02:09,419God’s Providence in Ruling the World.3600:02:09,419 –> 00:02:10,800Here is Colin.3700:02:10,800 –> 00:02:15,419God has done miracles of grace in Jonah’s life.3800:02:15,660 –> 00:02:21,440Remember that while Jonah disobeyed God, God sent a storm to bring Jonah back from a3900:02:21,440 –> 00:02:25,539life that otherwise would’ve been wasted in disobedience.4000:02:25,539 –> 00:02:30,779Then God marvelously sends a fish to save Jonah’s life from drowning.4100:02:30,779 –> 00:02:34,539We’ve been learning that God wonderfully cares about his servants and that when he4200:02:34,539 –> 00:02:37,880sets his love on you, he never lets you go.4300:02:37,880 –> 00:02:43,440He has his way of bringing his own children back and many of us from our hearts are gonna4400:02:44,039 –> 00:02:49,279be saying thank God for that in my life and in my experience.4500:02:49,279 –> 00:02:54,339Not only has God been at work doing miracles in Jonah’s life, but God has been at work4600:02:54,339 –> 00:02:57,759doing miracles through Jonah’s ministry.4700:02:57,759 –> 00:03:04,339He went to Nineveh and we saw last weekend that going into this major city of an empire4800:03:04,339 –> 00:03:10,119that really was known for terror and known for violence and known for torture, Jonah4900:03:10,119 –> 00:03:16,539goes in and he proclaims the Word of the Lord and there is this extraordinary response.5000:03:16,539 –> 00:03:20,660The people of Nineveh, of all people, believed God.5100:03:20,660 –> 00:03:22,279They turn to God in repentance.5200:03:22,279 –> 00:03:28,059They start crying out to God urgently in prayer and they put their hope in the mercy5300:03:28,059 –> 00:03:30,419of the Living God of the Bible.5400:03:30,820 –> 00:03:37,619By any standards, what we saw last week in Jonah in chapter three is an unusual, remarkable,5500:03:37,619 –> 00:03:40,199amazing work of God.5600:03:40,199 –> 00:03:48,279Thousands of Assyrian people in that generation in Jonah’s time came to faith and repentance5700:03:48,279 –> 00:03:53,639and you would think that a man who had been used by God in such an amazing way, miracles5800:03:53,639 –> 00:03:59,100in his own life and miracles through his ministry, would be in a position of being full of joy5900:03:59,899 –> 00:04:06,720and yet, what we find here to our surprise, is that exactly the opposite is the case.6000:04:06,740 –> 00:04:16,220Chapter four in verse one, but after these miracles of grace, Jonah was greatly displeased6100:04:16,220 –> 00:04:19,459and he became angry.6200:04:19,459 –> 00:04:23,799I want you to remember Jonah was a mature believer.6300:04:23,799 –> 00:04:28,019I want you to remember he was a prophet of the living God.6400:04:28,100 –> 00:04:33,200I want you to remember that he was, if we can put it in our terms today, a full-time missionary,6500:04:33,200 –> 00:04:36,359cross-cultural.6600:04:36,359 –> 00:04:40,739And you would think that a man like that, mature in faith, a prophetic ministry, an6700:04:40,739 –> 00:04:46,859overseas missionary, who had been blessed in an unusual way, seen a revival through6800:04:46,859 –> 00:04:54,779his work, would just be full of thanksgiving and praise to God, but what we find in Jonah6900:04:55,239 –> 00:05:04,2394 is that this man is angry, he is frustrated, and he is out of sorts with the God he sent7000:05:04,239 –> 00:05:07,820out to serve.7100:05:07,820 –> 00:05:13,019Now I want you to notice before we get into this, that in the Bible, Jonah was not the7200:05:13,019 –> 00:05:15,239only one to go through this experience.7300:05:15,239 –> 00:05:18,540Let me give you a couple of examples.7400:05:18,540 –> 00:05:24,820In Psalm 73, we have the testimony of a man by the name of Asaph, who has some distinct7500:05:24,820 –> 00:05:31,000similarities to Jonah both in his profile and in his experience.7600:05:31,000 –> 00:05:35,619Asaph was the director of music for King David.7700:05:35,619 –> 00:05:41,359His ministry, very high profile ministry really in the time, was to be the director of worship7800:05:41,359 –> 00:05:44,279in the temple of God in the City of Jerusalem.7900:05:44,320 –> 00:05:49,279At David’s time, of course, before the temple as they anticipated the building of it in8000:05:49,279 –> 00:05:51,040the time of Solomon.8100:05:51,040 –> 00:05:59,440But in Psalm 73, Asaph tells us about how he went through an experience just like Jonah.8200:05:59,440 –> 00:06:01,679Psalms 73, in verse 2,8300:06:15,040 –> 00:06:17,959I could make no sense of how God orders the world.8400:06:17,959 –> 00:06:23,119It seemed to me sometimes that God was kinder to his enemies than he is to his own friends.8500:06:23,119 –> 00:06:28,600And so I began to ask this question, what has been the point in me keeping my own heart8600:06:28,600 –> 00:06:30,519pure?8700:06:30,519 –> 00:06:35,140Here’s a man who’s pouring himself into ministry, and at some point down the years8800:06:35,140 –> 00:06:39,820he says, What’s the point of living like this?8900:06:39,820 –> 00:06:47,420The wicked prosper, so why have I kept my heart pure?9000:06:47,420 –> 00:06:49,359And he said, My foot almost slipped.9100:06:49,359 –> 00:06:54,579I nearly lost it at that point, because I was thrown into this internal struggle in9200:06:54,579 –> 00:07:00,899which, as a mature believer in service for God, I found a struggle going on within me9300:07:00,899 –> 00:07:04,500I could scarcely comprehend.9400:07:04,500 –> 00:07:08,579Let me give you another example that comes from a story that the Lord Jesus told, perhaps9500:07:08,579 –> 00:07:11,899his best known story of all, the story of the prodigal son.9600:07:11,899 –> 00:07:14,859Remember the story, Luke, chapter 15?9700:07:14,859 –> 00:07:21,420The younger brother goes to a far country and wastes his inheritance on riotous living.9800:07:21,420 –> 00:07:25,220But then the older brother stayed at home, and what did he do?9900:07:25,220 –> 00:07:27,019He worked.10000:07:27,019 –> 00:07:29,399He served the father.10100:07:29,399 –> 00:07:35,239He works hard day in, day out in the father’s service, and then the young son comes home.10200:07:35,920 –> 00:07:40,859And when that happens, the father forgives him and he welcomes the younger son back into10300:07:40,859 –> 00:07:43,179the family home.10400:07:43,179 –> 00:07:51,559And Jesus says, Luke chapter 15 in verse 28, at this point, the elder brother became angry.10500:07:51,559 –> 00:07:53,839Notice the word.10600:07:53,839 –> 00:07:58,920He said, all this years I have been slaving for you.10700:07:58,920 –> 00:07:59,980That’s what he said to the father.10800:07:59,980 –> 00:08:03,420I have never disobeyed your orders.10900:08:03,420 –> 00:08:04,420It’s rather like Esau.11000:08:04,420 –> 00:08:06,200See I have kept my heart pure.11100:08:06,200 –> 00:08:09,679I’ve walked the road you called me to walk and serve on.11200:08:09,679 –> 00:08:16,019The older brother is not angry with the younger brother, the older brother is angry with the11300:08:16,019 –> 00:08:22,579father, and that is where Jonah was in Jonah and chapter 4.11400:08:22,579 –> 00:08:25,179Now here is an interesting question.11500:08:25,179 –> 00:08:32,520What do Jonah and Esau and the older brother in Jesus’ story have in common?11600:08:32,580 –> 00:08:34,960There is a distinct similarity in the profile.11700:08:34,960 –> 00:08:39,559They are all hard workers.11800:08:39,559 –> 00:08:42,020They are all obedient.11900:08:42,020 –> 00:08:48,640They are all marvelous servants fulfilling everything that they have been called to do.12000:08:48,640 –> 00:08:56,179They stretch themselves out in serving, just like some of us do, and I am deducing this12100:08:56,219 –> 00:09:02,820application from that profile, that those who give themselves most fully to serving12200:09:02,820 –> 00:09:10,940God can find themselves, at some point in their lives, frustrated and even angry with12300:09:10,940 –> 00:09:17,260the God they serve, and there is a great mystery here that I don’t suppose any of12400:09:17,260 –> 00:09:20,020us will fully understand this side of heaven.12500:09:20,020 –> 00:09:23,140How is it that I can experience God’s grace in my own life?12600:09:23,260 –> 00:09:28,140I can experience God’s grace in my ministry and still find that I struggle with the God12700:09:28,140 –> 00:09:30,940that I love.12800:09:30,940 –> 00:09:36,679How is it possible to be in the middle of a great work of God and yet not to find joy12900:09:36,679 –> 00:09:38,280in it?13000:09:38,280 –> 00:09:43,000And what Jonah is showing us in chapter four of this is very important.13100:09:43,000 –> 00:09:49,380Is that one of the primary ways in which a mature believer can avoid a God-centered life13200:09:49,599 –> 00:09:52,299is that you SERVE God… you really do.13300:09:52,299 –> 00:09:58,219And then you end up resenting the very God that you serve.’13400:09:58,219 –> 00:10:01,520You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and we’ve got to pause13500:10:01,520 –> 00:10:05,099the message briefly there but we’ll be back very shortly.13600:10:05,099 –> 00:10:10,460The message is called Resign God’s Work and it’s part of our series Based on the book13700:10:10,460 –> 00:10:14,460of Jonah … How to Avoid a God-Centered Life.13800:10:14,460 –> 00:10:16,979Somewhat ironic title there as you will gather.13900:10:17,179 –> 00:10:22,200If you ever miss one of the messages in the series you can easily catch up or go back14000:10:22,200 –> 00:10:29,679and listen again by coming online to our website OpenTheBible.org.uk or also by finding us14100:10:29,679 –> 00:10:35,760as a podcast and those are on all the main podcast sites, search for Open the Bible UK14200:10:35,760 –> 00:10:38,820or follow the links from our website.14300:10:38,820 –> 00:10:42,140Back to the message now there again is Collin.14400:10:42,179 –> 00:10:47,119Now what Jonah is showing us in chapter four this is very important is that one of the14500:10:47,119 –> 00:10:54,219primary ways in which a mature believer can avoid a God-centered life is that you serve14600:10:54,219 –> 00:11:02,320God, you really do and then you end up resenting the very God that you serve.14700:11:02,320 –> 00:11:08,080Now if you have sacrificed much for the cause of Jesus Christ in your life you are likely14800:11:08,200 –> 00:11:14,780to experience this trial therefore you need to know how to deal with it which is surely14900:11:14,780 –> 00:11:17,739the reason that Jonah chapter 4 is given to us.15000:11:17,739 –> 00:11:24,080I want us to see first how this resentment towards God grew within Jonah’s life and15100:11:24,080 –> 00:11:30,159then how wonderfully God dealt with Jonah to deliver him from it.15200:11:30,159 –> 00:11:34,760Now let’s jump in then to verse 2 and let’s begin by observing something that Jonah did15300:11:34,780 –> 00:11:36,460exactly right.15400:11:36,460 –> 00:11:39,239It says there that he prayed to the Lord.15500:11:39,239 –> 00:11:41,500Do you notice the contrast?15600:11:41,500 –> 00:11:46,479In chapter 1 Jonah is unhappy with God and so he runs from the Lord.15700:11:46,479 –> 00:11:52,559In chapter 4 Jonah is still unhappy with God but now he prays to the Lord.15800:11:52,559 –> 00:11:54,760That’s progress.15900:11:54,760 –> 00:12:00,400But I want you to notice that Jonah’s prayer is a complaint against God and it’s not just16000:12:00,400 –> 00:12:02,179a complaint about what God does.16100:12:02,179 –> 00:12:05,719It really is a complaint about who God is.16200:12:05,719 –> 00:12:11,919O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still at home?16300:12:11,919 –> 00:12:14,940This was why I was so quick to flee from Tarshish.16400:12:14,940 –> 00:12:22,000I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love.16500:12:22,000 –> 00:12:27,419A God who relents from sending calamity.16600:12:27,419 –> 00:12:33,599Now these words he’s really quoting what was a very famous phrase among God’s people.16700:12:33,599 –> 00:12:39,979It came from Exodus in chapter 34 verses 6 and 7, where we have for the first time this16800:12:39,979 –> 00:12:42,219great statement about God’s character.16900:12:42,219 –> 00:12:46,619He’s gracious, he’s compassionate, he is slow to anger, he is abounding in love.17000:12:46,619 –> 00:12:51,020And you will find these two repeated again and again throughout the scriptures and God’s17100:12:51,020 –> 00:12:55,059people would regularly have repeated this as part of their praise sort of thing we could17200:12:55,059 –> 00:12:56,719do as we gather together in worship.17300:12:56,719 –> 00:12:57,739Why do we praise God?17400:12:57,739 –> 00:13:01,159Because he’s gracious, he’s compassionate, he’s slow to anger, and he’s abounding17500:13:01,159 –> 00:13:02,159in love.17600:13:02,159 –> 00:13:07,679What Jonah does is he turns that back towards God and he makes it his complaint.17700:13:07,679 –> 00:13:09,219And here’s why.17800:13:09,219 –> 00:13:15,239God, You are too slow in dealing with evil.17900:13:15,239 –> 00:13:18,979See, this is Jonah’s struggle.18000:13:18,979 –> 00:13:23,380The people of Nineveh were evil, wicked.18100:13:23,440 –> 00:13:29,700And Jonah was quite sure that within a short time this city would return to evil ways even18200:13:29,700 –> 00:13:35,020if they had stopped and repented as a result of God’s grace and His ministry.18300:13:35,020 –> 00:13:36,119Jonah was sure of this.18400:13:36,119 –> 00:13:38,099And Jonah was right.18500:13:38,099 –> 00:13:45,479We saw last week, didn’t we, that history shows within a generation Nineveh, as the18600:13:45,479 –> 00:13:50,059generation that had turned to God, gave way to a new generation that had not experienced18700:13:50,059 –> 00:13:51,140the revival.18800:13:51,140 –> 00:13:55,460Nineveh turned within a generation or so to evil ways.18900:13:55,460 –> 00:14:01,039And the generation that repented was now taken… replaced by a generation that returned to19000:14:01,039 –> 00:14:03,520the old violence, the old torture.19100:14:03,520 –> 00:14:05,419And that generation did what?19200:14:05,419 –> 00:14:10,299They invaded the northern kingdom of Israel, where ten tribes were situated.19300:14:10,299 –> 00:14:17,500And they devastated them with extraordinary brutality.19400:14:17,500 –> 00:14:20,679Now Jonah saw that coming.19500:14:20,719 –> 00:14:24,880The book of Nahum that we have referred to a couple of times just a few pages on from19600:14:24,880 –> 00:14:32,140Jonah, it was written after the time of Jonah, and it lays out the excruciating evil to which19700:14:32,140 –> 00:14:34,760Nineveh returned.19800:14:34,760 –> 00:14:46,059All of which could have been avoided if only God had done what He first said, and blitzed19900:14:46,979 –> 00:14:51,539in the time of Jonah.20000:14:51,539 –> 00:14:58,780Have you never wondered about God’s strange providence in the way He orders the world?20100:14:58,780 –> 00:15:06,979How much suffering could this world have been spared if God had wiped out Hitler or Stalin20200:15:06,979 –> 00:15:13,640or Bin Laden when they were young?20300:15:13,640 –> 00:15:19,840Yet, He let them live.20400:15:19,840 –> 00:15:22,179Why?20500:15:22,179 –> 00:15:28,599Because He’s gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love.20600:15:28,599 –> 00:15:33,739You see, that’s Jonah’s problem, that’s his complaint.20700:15:33,780 –> 00:15:41,340And when Jonah thought about how God rules the world and how He allows wickedness and20800:15:41,340 –> 00:15:49,219is so slow to bring devastating judgment that He could bring, it made Jonah angry.20900:15:49,219 –> 00:15:54,020If you haven’t struggled over that question, you haven’t looked very much at what’s21000:15:54,020 –> 00:15:56,080going on in the world.21100:15:56,080 –> 00:16:02,260Why does God rule the world in the way that He does?21200:16:02,299 –> 00:16:03,940Now, let’s try and probe a little bit deeper.21300:16:04,059 –> 00:16:07,359Try and get into what’s going on in Jonah’s heart here.21400:16:07,359 –> 00:16:08,359What’s actually happening?21500:16:08,359 –> 00:16:12,239What has caused Jonah to be thrown into this great struggle?21600:16:12,239 –> 00:16:14,479What is actually happening in his heart?21700:16:14,479 –> 00:16:22,179I want you to notice, and this is a very important principle, how Jonah undermines his own repentance.21800:16:22,179 –> 00:16:24,919Now, it’s right there in verse 2.21900:16:24,919 –> 00:16:26,520Notice this statement.22000:16:26,520 –> 00:16:32,280This is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish.22100:16:32,280 –> 00:16:36,919Now, I want to suggest to you, and it’s important to see this clearly, that this is22200:16:36,919 –> 00:16:45,380a marvelous example of undermining your own repentance.22300:16:45,380 –> 00:16:46,380Remember the story.22400:16:46,380 –> 00:16:47,380Jonah had disobeyed God.22500:16:47,380 –> 00:16:51,440There was no doubt that he sinned when he got on the boat to go to Tarshish because22600:16:51,440 –> 00:16:54,719God had told him to go to Nineveh and he goes off in the opposite direction.22700:16:54,979 –> 00:16:58,599He disobeys God and God sends a storm to bring him back.22800:16:58,599 –> 00:16:59,719God is merciful to him.22900:16:59,719 –> 00:17:02,919God then sends the fish and the fish saves his life.23000:17:02,940 –> 00:17:07,640Jonah has repented of his disobedience and God forgave him.23100:17:07,640 –> 00:17:12,119He goes on into ministry and God blesses him.23200:17:12,119 –> 00:17:13,880But now, what’s happening in chapter four?23300:17:13,880 –> 00:17:16,479Ah, Jonah’s going backwards.23400:17:16,479 –> 00:17:21,119Now he wants to raise the very sin for which he has been forgiven, that is the sin of23500:17:21,119 –> 00:17:22,760going to Tarshish.23600:17:23,560 –> 00:17:31,640And he now wants to explain why he did the very thing for which he had previously repented.23700:17:31,640 –> 00:17:38,359He feels now, as he looks back on it, that there was some justification for what he did.23800:17:38,359 –> 00:17:40,459Some defense that could be offered.23900:17:40,459 –> 00:17:44,660Lord, the more I think about it, there were actually some very good reasons why I went24000:17:44,660 –> 00:17:46,880to flee to Tarshish and you know what?24100:17:46,880 –> 00:17:51,400As soon as you start explaining why it was that you sinned,24200:17:53,239 –> 00:17:58,400you undermine your own repentance.24300:17:58,400 –> 00:18:01,339See, repentance says, I did this.24400:18:01,339 –> 00:18:03,020It was wrong.24500:18:03,020 –> 00:18:09,599I take responsibility, and I trust myself to the mercy of God for my forgiveness.24600:18:09,599 –> 00:18:17,599But self-justification says, well now, you need to understand why it was that I did this.24700:18:17,920 –> 00:18:22,739And the truth is that within every human soul, there is a continuing battle that goes on24800:18:22,739 –> 00:18:29,040between repentance on the one hand, and self-justification on the other hand.24900:18:29,040 –> 00:18:34,239So that even after you repent of a particular sin in your life, you may find yourself down25000:18:34,239 –> 00:18:37,339the track thinking differently about it.25100:18:37,339 –> 00:18:41,520And it will occur to you to think like this, Actually, you know, I was very repentant.25200:18:41,520 –> 00:18:45,560But the more I think about it, there’s another side to this story.25300:18:45,739 –> 00:18:49,180There are some explanations, there is some defense to be offered for what I did.25400:18:49,180 –> 00:18:51,099Look at the pressures I was under.25500:18:51,099 –> 00:18:53,420Look at the difficulties I was facing at the time.25600:18:53,420 –> 00:18:55,219Look at the lack of support I had.25700:18:55,219 –> 00:18:57,380It’s easy to understand why I felt.25800:18:57,380 –> 00:19:01,579In fact, the more that I think about it, it would have been amazing if I did not fall.25900:19:01,579 –> 00:19:06,060And now, suddenly, you’ve undermined all your own repentance.26000:19:06,060 –> 00:19:07,739It happens.26100:19:07,739 –> 00:19:11,260Does this sound familiar?26200:19:11,260 –> 00:19:12,939A man has an affair.26300:19:12,939 –> 00:19:14,420He repents.26400:19:15,260 –> 00:19:16,359He takes responsibility.26500:19:16,359 –> 00:19:19,099He says he’s sorry, but a few weeks later, what happens?26600:19:19,099 –> 00:19:21,680His tone changes.26700:19:21,680 –> 00:19:27,439He begins to explain why it happened.26800:19:27,439 –> 00:19:31,380And his explanation undermines his repentance.26900:19:31,380 –> 00:19:35,739It turns out actually, it was someone else’s fault.27000:19:35,739 –> 00:19:37,900I’m sorry I lost my temper.27100:19:37,900 –> 00:19:43,579But remember you said – it just undermined your repentance.27200:19:43,859 –> 00:19:47,079No point in saying sorry.27300:19:47,079 –> 00:19:53,079Now, there is a subtle change that’s going on in Jonah right here that is of devastating27400:19:53,079 –> 00:19:56,119spiritual proportions.27500:19:56,119 –> 00:20:03,560He saw himself earlier as a sinner in need of the mercy of God.27600:20:03,560 –> 00:20:07,300A sinner who finds his hope in God.27700:20:07,300 –> 00:20:12,760But now he is seeing himself as a man who can offer an explanation for the wrong in27800:20:12,800 –> 00:20:14,359his life to God.27900:20:14,359 –> 00:20:18,520All the difference in the world between these two things.28000:20:18,520 –> 00:20:22,280You see it happening right here in Jonah chapter 4 in verse 2.28100:20:22,280 –> 00:20:26,000Oh Lord is not this what I said while I was still at home?28200:20:26,000 –> 00:20:29,239This is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish.28300:20:29,239 –> 00:20:31,079See what he’s saying?28400:20:31,079 –> 00:20:36,420I went to Tarshish and I know it was wrong.28500:20:36,420 –> 00:20:40,400But actually God it’s your fault.28600:20:40,400 –> 00:20:44,140Because if you judged the wicked like you should be doing there wouldn’t have been28700:20:44,140 –> 00:20:45,140a problem.28800:20:45,140 –> 00:20:48,859But I know that you’re the God who relents from sending calamity, and that is why I went28900:20:48,859 –> 00:20:52,699so quickly to Tarshish.29000:20:52,699 –> 00:20:56,199Now notice the pattern.29100:20:56,199 –> 00:21:07,079When you feel that you can offer an explanation for your sin against God, you undermine your29200:21:07,079 –> 00:21:10,319own repentance.29300:21:10,319 –> 00:21:14,439You go back even on where perhaps you were once before.29400:21:14,439 –> 00:21:28,020Here’s the tragedy of it, if you go down that path it will not be long before you are angry29500:21:28,020 –> 00:21:29,020with God.29600:21:29,020 –> 00:21:35,000A powerful thought for us to wrap up our time together there, when a man or woman begins29700:21:35,000 –> 00:21:40,140to undermine their own repentance it won’t be long before they’re angry with God.29800:21:40,619 –> 00:21:45,900A reminder that we need to keep short accounts and not to avoid repentance.29900:21:45,900 –> 00:21:50,680You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith on Open The Bible and a message called Resign30000:21:50,699 –> 00:21:57,699God’s work, part of the series, How to avoid A God Centred Life, based on the Book of Jonah.30100:21:57,699 –> 00:22:01,599And if you ever miss one of the series you can easily catch up, or go back and listen30200:22:01,599 –> 00:22:09,520again by coming online to our website openthebible.org.uk or by looking in your favourite podcast site30300:22:09,599 –> 00:22:16,199for Open the Bible UK, and there you’ll find all the messages which have already been broadcast.30400:22:16,199 –> 00:22:20,780Open the Bible is supported by our listeners, that’s people just like you and if you already30500:22:20,800 –> 00:22:26,800give to support the work thank you so much. If that’s something you’re considering doing,30600:22:26,800 –> 00:22:30,939if you’re able to begin a new direct debit to the work of Open the Bible, in the amount30700:22:30,939 –> 00:22:37,280of £5 per month or more, or a one-off gift of £50 or more, we’d be delighted to say30800:22:37,319 –> 00:22:44,540thank you by sending you a special gift. It’s a book called Gospel Stories by Andrew Wilson.30900:22:44,540 –> 00:22:50,180The book explores real encounters with Jesus, conversations and moments that revealed who31000:22:50,180 –> 00:22:57,040he is and why he came, and the kind of love that he offers. A love that pursues, forgives31100:22:57,040 –> 00:22:59,939and restores and never lets go.31200:22:59,939 –> 00:23:05,339That’s Gospel Stories by Andrew Wilson, and it’s our free gift to you. When you begin31300:23:05,719 –> 00:23:11,500supporting Open the Bible with a direct debit or a one-off gift. Full terms and conditions31400:23:11,500 –> 00:23:17,699are on our website, that’s at OpenTheBible.org.uk and you can give online.31500:23:17,699 –> 00:23:22,180You know Colin, it’s interesting, as you bring out in the Message today, that often it’s31600:23:22,180 –> 00:23:27,219the more spiritually matured person who does struggle with this issue of resentment.31700:23:27,219 –> 00:23:32,640This whole issue of spiritual maturity is really quite deceptive. You know, you get31800:23:32,719 –> 00:23:36,599these kind of scales of discipleship, you know, are you a level one or two or three31900:23:36,599 –> 00:23:42,119or four kind of level disciple and it’s all defined as to whether you do certain things32000:23:42,119 –> 00:23:49,040and what’s in place in your life. Where was Peter when he confessed that Jesus is the32100:23:49,040 –> 00:23:53,760Christ, presumably in a very good place and one minute later he says, don’t go to the32200:23:53,760 –> 00:23:57,739cross if Jesus is behind me saying, so where is Peter on the chart now?32300:23:57,839 –> 00:23:58,880Yeah. So, you know,32400:23:58,880 –> 00:24:04,540the idea that I’m at a certain place in terms of spiritual maturity is really simplistic.32500:24:04,540 –> 00:24:11,520It avoids the reality that there are layers in the life of every believer and that whatever32600:24:11,520 –> 00:24:16,459God is doing in us and through us, there are some surprises that can come to the surface32700:24:16,459 –> 00:24:21,000in strange ways and Jonah Chapter Four is the clearest example of this.32800:24:21,000 –> 00:24:25,760The man’s just been used to bring the Bible to a city through the preaching of the word32900:24:26,420 –> 00:24:29,140and now he is in the middle of an argument with God.33000:24:29,140 –> 00:24:33,300Well, that’s the kind of complexity of a so-called mature believer.33100:24:33,300 –> 00:24:34,900And he’s in the middle of the battle.33200:24:34,900 –> 00:24:39,660Well, that’s a great point you bring out there and I think most of us if we’d seen God pour33300:24:39,660 –> 00:24:44,479out His grace in the way that Jonah did, with the city of Ninevah, you would think that33400:24:44,479 –> 00:24:49,619would lead to worship and praise for God, for his grace.33500:24:49,619 –> 00:24:54,660But we’ll find out that there’s a little bit more to the story than that when we continue33600:24:54,660 –> 00:24:56,339with this message next time.33700:24:56,339 –> 00:25:02,219You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called Resign33800:25:02,219 –> 00:25:07,239God’s Work and as you’ve heard we’re going to continue with this message next time so33900:25:07,239 –> 00:25:09,819I very much hope you’ll join us with that.34000:25:09,819 –> 00:25:13,020For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick.34100:25:13,020 –> 00:25:17,300I look forward to being here with you next time on Open the Bible.34200:25:17,800 –> 00:25:22,900God’s grace will either make you angry or lead you to worship.34300:25:22,900 –> 00:25:25,780Find out why next time on Open the Bible.