Yahweh's Mercy To His Wayward Prophet | Jonah 2

About this sermon

Introduction: We said last week that when a believer runs from God there are at least two things that are inescapable. *You cannot escape the repercussions of your sinning. *You cannot escape the faithful love of your God. God is faithful to never let go of His people. When we persist in sin, we will learn that God’s love is merciful, but it is not lenient. WE LEARN THAT IN THIS CHAPTER. AS WE COME TO THIS SECOND CHAPTER, WE SEE GOD’S MERCY TO HIS WAYWARD PROPHET. We see how God brings Jonah to a place of surrender. For the first time we meet with Jonah praying. When Jonah received the initial call, he did not pray before he ran. He did not pray when he found the ship and paid the fare. He did not pray when he was exhorted to by pagans in the midst of a life-threatening storm. FOR THE FIRST TIME, IN CHAPTER TWO, WE HAVE A RECORD OF JONAH PRAYING. We should not be surprised that Jonah has been prayerless to this point. Prayerlessness ALWAYS characterizes wayward believers. If you do not want to obey God, you do not want to talk to God. If your ways are in rebellion against God, your heart does not pursue God. But God IS FAITHFUL to bring His people to their knees. AND YET, even as God humbles His people, reduces His people, breaks them, makes them willing to follow, IT IS ALWAYS FULL OF MERCY. ARE YOU CONVINCED OF THAT? ARE YOU CONVINCED THAT IT IS THE MERCY OF GOD THAT REFUSES TO ALLOW YOU TO RUN AWAY? In our text we see four demonstrations of God’s mercy to His wayward prophet.

Topics

• Love & Compassion