Gtcotr/ss071424
I. The Message
Jonah 1 NKJV
1 ¶ Now the word of the LORD
came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that
great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before
Me.”
3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
·
God
called Jonah to Nineveh
o The capital of the
Assyrian Empire
o A city of 600,000
o 90 miles in
circumference
o Pagan enemies of
Israel
·
Jonah allowed his personal feelings to cloud the call of God.
o Jonah had his own
opinion about the people of Nineveh.
o However Jonah was a mentally disturbed man
Biblical records show Jonah was an emotionally unstable, self-absorbed, anti-social and unforgiving ingrate with serious control issues, and a deeply seated superiority complex, who was prone to fits of anger, often to the point of acting out his rage with threats of harm to himself and hopes of harm to others when he didn’t get his way, resulting in his harboring of resentment towards those with whom he did not agree, even when the disagreement was with Almighty God, who also was his Boss.
·
Why
would God choose to use someone like Jonah?
o Perhaps all the
perfect people were busy that day.
o Maybe Jonah wasn’t the
first person God asked.
o No doubt God loved the people of Nineveh and wanted someone to help them.
God chooses who He uses.
Someone being critical of God’s choice to use Jonah is the same as Jonah being critical of God’s choice to forgive the people of Nineveh. We often allow our personal feelings to color our opinion concerning what God should and should not do.
God is so gracious. He is loving and He is kind. He is God of the whole world and not just the God of our world. God wants all men to be saved … even those who don’t like us and those who aren’t like us.
If you are familiar with the story, you will remember the storm that threatened to sink the ship Jonah was on and how the sailors were forced to throw Jonah overboard. (I encourage you to re-read the whole book of Jonah this week and get the context and confirm the findings.)
“What you are going through may not be punishment for your past but rather positioning for your future.”
You know that great fish that swallowed Jonah … it saved Jonah. The fish was a blessing, not a curse. It stands to reason Jonah would have drowned in the ocean without that great fish. And we can assume this fish took Jonah 3 days closer to the city of Nineveh, not farther away from God’s will like he was headed on his own. As well, the fish “spit Jonah up on dry ground.” That was a surprisingly good taxi ride.
What seems like a surprise to us is often a plan to God. We will never catch God unprepared for what we are capable of doing.
II. The Mission
At noon today I, along with 27 missionaries from our Church will leave here to meet up with 7 other KE Resource team members tomorrow night in Nairobi, Kenya. From there we will travel together to the city of Nakuru where we will continue the work to which God has called us.
About half of our group will build a rudimentary classroom inside the city’s garbage dump site so that impoverished children who would not otherwise be able, can attend school. We also have a goal of starting several new small businesses among the families who live at the dump site (Gioto Dump Site) to help lift them from the multi-generational poverty and give them a better chance at life. As well, we will complete well over 100 home visits to the homes of our sponsored children living at Gioto.
The other half of our team will complete the needed work to finish “Zaburi House”, An off-site home for at risk girls from Gioto. Currently there are 16 girls who have been accepted into our program and God has blessed us with the most wonderful head matron. Irene is well experienced and the newest member of our KE Resources team. She is an amazing, godly woman of 62 years who loves these girls and will oversee their care, education, and everyday activities in accordance with the programs we have in place. The Zaburi girls currently range in age from 8 to 14.
The team from our Church will assemble the beds, build the chicken house, plant the trees, purchase the necessary items, from bed sheets to lamps, nightstands to chickens, dishes, cups, silverware, pots, and pans, 2 goats, and then put all the finishing touches on the house including putting a new, hand-made quilt, made with love by our very own Mary K, on each bed along with a personal shower caddy, and get the house ready for the girls.
On Saturday, July 20th, at 5 pm, after the weekly feeding at Gioto, our team will host a dedication of Zaburi House with about 100 invited guests including many VIP’s from the echelons of government and community leaders from the area. Thanks to all of you who have made this vision possible. You are making an eternal investment in the lives of souls you will one day see in heaven. Without you, these things would not happen.
We may not be the first people God has tasks with this certain responsibility, and we may not be the sharpest knives in the bucket, but we have been called and empowered by God to accomplish this mission for His glory because, God so loves the world.
The one thing we yet need is a school bus for these girls which will also be their Sunday transportation to and from Church. There is little reason to purchase a worn-out vehicle or one that is too small to transport them all safely. We don’t want our kids broke down or put them in danger on the sides of those roads. We still need about $25,000 to get in the range of purchasing the bus we need.
So far, we have paid as we went. Everything we have done both at Gioto and Zaburi, as well as all of our mission projects around the world for the past 36 years has been paid for in cash. We don’t plan to do anything different with this bus. God will bless us … He just needs to bless you more so a portion of your blessing will be exactly what He needs for the bus.
I will be praying for you to receive the blessing God has for you. Lastly …
III. The Ministry
What do you need today?
It would be wrong for us to reach all around the world, meeting needs and making converts to Christ everywhere else, and let you suffer and live in hell or go to hell without Jesus.
My hope this morning is that you hear the Good News about Jesus and that you leave here knowing how much He loves you.
There are only Two ways a person can go to heaven when they die. One way is to Be perfect. You have probably already missed that one.
The second, and therefore the only way for you to go to heaven is to Be perfected. Jesus Christ has invited you to exchange lives with Him. He will take your sin and He will give you His righteousness. Jesus made a way for you to be perfected in the eyes of God. He sacrificed His life for you. The blood of Jesus will wash away your sins if only you will invite Him into your heart and ask Him to become your Savior and your Lord.
Let’s do that together right now. And if there is any other thing you need to lay down at His feet or help that you need, the Holy Spirit will help you and give you the guidance, the peace, the joy and the safety you need.
Like
Jonah: You will never catch God unprepared for what you do. Let’s pray together
right now. God is listening, and He will send help.
