Lessons From An Unpredicable Plant

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Lessons From An Unpredicable Plant</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id180.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods Mercy Take Some and Pass it Along"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="21"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Jonah 4:1-11, Berean Bible Church, “Lessons From An Unpredictable Plant,” Mar18,01am</B></div> <bR> <div> I. If we are grateful that God shows mercy to us, we should be grateful that he shows his mercy to others (vss. 1-11). Jonah did his job, but not with a consistent attitude. His attitude was inconsistent because he gladly received God’s mercy but he was unwilling to be happy about others receiving it as well.</div> <div>      A. Vss. 1-4: Jonah was very unhappy that God was merciful to Nineveh. God’s mercy, described in verse 2 (see Ex 34.6-7), is why Jonah did not want to preach to Nineveh. God’s loyal love extends opportunities to undeserving people. His loyal love was not just for Israel. In fact, he does not delight in bringing disaster on people who deserve disaster.</div> <div>      B. Vss. 5-11: God used an object lesson to show him his response was not right: Jonah was more concerned with his physical comfort than with the salvation of his enemies. Note the contrast between Jonah’s extreme anger at God’s deliverance of Nineveh (vs. 1-2), and his extreme happiness at a mere plant that made him more comfortable (vs. 6). God’s simple question is: why should Jonah be concerned about what makes him comfortable and not let God be concerned about something that gives people a chance and saves their lives (vss. 10-11). Unlike Jonah, We must have a consistently grateful attitude about God’s mercy.</div> <bR> <div> II. Some Questions For Consideration:</div> <div>      A. Do you avoid judging people before showing mercy? Or do you think that some people are unworthy of your kindness and grace? Who gets God’s mercy is not according to our standards – God doesn’t work that way!</div> <div>      B. Do we care enough to go out of our way to show love?</div> <div>      C. Do we forgive people who hurt us, or other Christians who sin?</div> <bR> <div> III. We must choose to submit to God’s ways (vss. 4, 9).</div> <div>      The answer to hypocrisy is not to avoid doing what is right just because we don’t feel like it. God asked Jonah twice, “Do you have a right to be angry?” (vss. 4, 9). An appropriate response is not, “That’s just the why I feel, and God will have to get used to it.” God’s response is, “That is what is right, and you will have to adjust your thinking to it, and then your feelings about it may change.” God expects us to follow his ways whether we feel like it or not. It is okay to discuss and debate with God, telling him how you feel. But this needs to be done with a strong sense of respect for who he is, for the fact that he is God and we are not.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2001, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>