Jonah 3:6-10, Nahum 1:7-8

7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king
and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything;
do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with
sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil
ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with
compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he
relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
Nahum 1:7-8
The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust
in him,
8 but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will
pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.
Standing The Test Of
Time
Time can be your friend or enemy
Time can be your friend
• When you need to make a big decision
• When you have an investment
• When you need healing
Time can be our enemy
• On an aging process
• When your having fun
• When the deadline is aproaching
The Biggest way that time is our enemy is when the passing of time causes
something that ones was special and imporatant and cherish to become
common and ordinary and unwanted.
( married and relationship with the Lord )
• “How is it that the people of Nineveh went from great revival
during the days of Jonah to terrible ruin in the days of Nahum?
• They [had] a sincere God moment, and there was great revival.
But now… 125 years later… barely four generations have passed, and the same
people are no longer walking with God.
God though he is a merciful [who] is abounding in love and mercy, he will not let
wickedness go unpunished.
• He gave Nineveh a chance. There were people who responded and repented and
turned to God… but [now the Ninevites had forsaken God]. We need to
understand that within the character of God [there is] mercy and justice. … He
will not allow wickedness to go unpunished forever, and time [was] up for
Nineveh.”
Romans 11:22 – “… consider the goodness and severity of God…”
Theological question
Since God knows all things and since he knew that the Ninevites will eventually
turn on him and forsake Him why send Jonah in the first place to begin with?
“God doesn’t show mercy dependent upon man staying true to
God; God shows mercy for his own name’s sake. …. It’s not because we are so
deserving, or we are so special, or we are so good… We are often unfaithful,
ungrateful people, sinful to the core, and yet God [has mercy on us].”
Isaiah 48:9 – “For My name’s sake I will defer My anger. And for My praise I
will restrain it from you…”
Ezekiel 20:44 – “ ‘Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt
with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor
according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD.”
God shows his mercy to people who are often very undeserving because
that’s how God does things.
Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while
we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
How can we sustain our walk with God overtime?
1. Beware Of Busyness
“Busyness is a relationship killer. … Important things are worth
your time. You prioritize what you love.
God has given each of us the same 24 hours each day. [How] do you discipline
yourself for the best use of that time and what part of [each] day does God
get? …
If we are not reading the Bible and having a prayer time with the Lord there
will be distance and an absence doesnt make a heart go punder but it teaches
independence that our heart will get use to it.
Matthew 6:31-33
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall
we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows
that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.
[Take time to consistently read the Bible.] … [The] key is consistency and regularity
rather than [putting unreal expectations on yourself]. … We need the Word of God to get
into our hearts and our [minds]. … When you read Scripture… the best time to seek [the
Lord] is in the morning.
You’re going to feel the crush of your day, so you need to guard your heart and your
mind in the Lord to help you face whatever the day might bring.”
“Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Give
heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray. My
voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct it to
You, and I will look up.” Psalm 5:1–3
2. Beware Of Cultural Creep And Worldly Ways
Everything about the culture is trying to put distance between you and God.
Worse than that, everything about the culture is trying to conform you into its
pattern, its mindset, its values, and its behavior. [The] culture over time has
become more evil in practice and belief…
Romans 12:2 – “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God.”
1 John 2:15–17
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of
the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does
the will of God abides forever.”
The desire of this culture is to lure our senses to threathen or weaken the
biblical foundation of His word in which our faith was build on.
Matthew 7:24-27
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into
practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came
down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet
it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who
hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a
foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams
rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great
crash.”
The message here is not only the wise hear the words and obey but the but
the message is these that this world always offers us to put our hope on the
things that is temporary we must watch our self to where our feet stand and
do not be deceived.
3. Beware Of Counterfeit Substitutes That Offer Fulfillment In Place Of
God
John 4:16-18
He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she
replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The
fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.
What you have just said is quite true.”
“The greatest and deepest longings of your soul can only and ultimately be
fulfilled in Jesus. People will go in search of all kinds of things, without the Lord,
trying to find that satisfaction and fulfillment.
If we think that other sources and means will bring fulfillment to you, besides the
Lord, over time you will drift from [the Lord].”
“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be
satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known
through Jesus Christ.” – Blaise Pascal
"Reason's last step is the recognition that there are an infinite number of things
which are beyond it." He concluded, "The heart has its reasons, which reason does
not know at all"
The heart wants and longs for all things the rather than the creator of all things and
will not be satisfied.
John 4:13
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but
whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them
will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
What is that water that will end up to eternal life if we drink it
His word are the water that if we drink or put our hope in Him will have eternal life.
“Do not fail the test of time. always guard our heart and put our trust only in His
word, Stay true to the Lord. Run the race with perseverance.”
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept
the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7