The Heart Of Man

We come once again to hear the word of God and to continue our series in Jonah. Just for a recap, we have been going through a sermon series in Jonah and have so far looked at The Call of Jonah, Jesus Greater Than Jonah and The Sovereignty of God in Jonah all in Chapter 1. Then in Chapter 2, we looked at The Prayer Of Jonah. The last time I preached on Jonah, that is the New Year, we were in Chapter 3 where we considered The Call of Jonah Part 2. I prefer to call it a Second Chance.

All these series can be seen on our website and our Facebook page. Not only this but all our sermons since we started in October last year can be accessed on our website and Facebook page.

For a title, let’s call this sermon The Heart of Man. We are going to look at the sinful condition of our hearts by examining the sinful condition of Jonah’s heart. Then when we have done that, we will look at how to deal with the sins in our hearts.

Let me ask a rhetorical question. For the children here, a rhetorical question is a question that doesn’t demand an answer. Here is the question. Has something bad ever happened to you and you have exclaimed why me? Or you are having a bad day, things are not going as you expected. And you ask why me? 

Now if anything happens to you and you ask why me, the response you should be given is why not you? Anytime you have asked why me, you are saying you don’t deserve whatever is happening to you. By implication, you are saying someone else deserves whatever is happening to you than you do.

If you and I were God, there are some people we won’t save or even forgive. We may deny this, but perhaps if we take time to examine our heart, we may see the true state of our heart.  If we examine our hearts objectively, the evil, darkness and sin that sits in our hearts may surprise us.  

The Bible has quite a  lot to say about the heart. The heart here I believe you know is not referring to the organ that pumps blood in our chest. The heart in a biblical and spiritual sense is talking about the seat of our affections and also the source of all our actions. It’s in the heart we plot sin. It is in the same heart we plot well.

Our first Scripture reading says

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person…” (Matthew 15:19-20).

Jeremiah 17:9-10 also says

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Question: If God searches our hearts, what will he find? See, you and I haven’t committed the worse of sins we are capable of committing because God has restrained us. We can be worse than we are now. Trust me. You haven’t committed certain sins not because you are any special, it is God who is keeping you. It is called Restraining Grace

If we have seen others do things that we never did; and if they have done worse than we, this is owing to restraining grace. If we have not done as bad as Pharaoh, it is owing to divine restraints. If we have not done as bad as Judas, or as the scribes and Pharisees, or as bad as Herod, or Simon Magus, it is because God has restrained our corruption. If we have ever heard or read of any that have done worse than we; if we have not gone the length in sinning, that the most wicked pirates or carnal persecutors have gone, this is owing to restraining grace (Jonathan Edwards).

In Jonah 3:1, Jonah is angry with God because He God has exercised his sovereignty and authority as God over the salvation of sinners: “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.” (Jonah 3:1). 

But: That word points us to a contrast somewhere. Jonah’s action is being contrasted with something. The last time I preached on Jonah we saw how the people believed God’s word of judgement preached by Jonah and they repented and God stayed back his judgement. Look at the immediate verse before Chapter 4; i.e. 3:10: “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.”

This is what Jonah is angry about. That God has saved a people. 

Who is this preacher displeased for the salvation of others? What an irony. The preacher’s joy must be to see fruits and success in their preaching. The preacher’s joy is to see conversions in his ministry. Of course, this must be the driving motivation for Christian ministry, that God pardons sinners and brings them to faith in Christ Jesus.

What an irony of a preacher Jonah is. Jonah’s reaction and his attitude reveals certain things about the state of his heart

Jonah is an enigma. He is a difficult character to understand. He runs away from God. God saves him and sends him out, then he is displeased and angry with God. 

What a preacher.

Jonah is a bigot. He is a racist. He is self-righteous. He is inward-looking. And yet a prophet of God. Here is a preacher who doesn’t love the people he is preaching to. Here is a preacher who doesn’t want his message to bring any change. 

This Chapter opens bare the heart of Jonah and in the text, we see clearly the motivation behind Jonah’s disobedience to the first call. We see why he will not go. 

Deliberate Disobedience

Firstly, Jonah’s disobedience wasn’t out of ignorance. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what he was doing. His disobedience was deliberate. He is not an ignorant man. His disobedience was disobedience out of knowledge: 

for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” (v.2).

Let’s pause on the phrase “I knew”. It tells us a lot. Jonah knows the character of God. Jonah knows God will forgive once he preaches to the people. MInd you, this is a prophet. This is someone God speaks to. This is someone who has a relationship with God. 

Note also that, verse 2 is not something Jonah made up. It is not something Jonah has just come to a knowledge of. No. This is taught by Scripture. So Jonah knows his Bible. Jonah is not an ignorant person. What he has said is a consistent character of God revealed by Scripture

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Psalm 103:8).

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end (Lamentations 3:23)

Jonah knows his Bible. He is fully aware of what Scripture teaches. So perhaps he sees his assignment as a fool’s errand. You are not going to destroy these people, so why do you send me to them Jonah may have thought. 

Listen, the means by which God saves sinners is by the preaching of his word. And this means of grace must not be undermined. It’s through the preaching of God’s word that God’s people will be saved. 

Jonah’s action is a clear act of deliberate disobedience. In our own lives, how many times haven’t we disobeyed God when we were clearly aware we were walking the path of disobedience. I dare say also that Jonah’s disobedience can pass for taking the grace of God for granted: “for I knew that you’re a gracious and merciful God…” This is like saying I am going to sin anyway, God will pardon me. 

But dear friends, we must not test the grace and mercy of God. We know Jonah’s predicament. He landed in the belly of the fish. Be sure of this. Every disobedience of God as his children will receive a just discipline and chastisement. And discipline and chastisement are never pleasant.

Prejudice Against Nineveh

This is one of the main reasons Jonah will not go: He was prejudiced against Nineveh. In our first series, we identified Nineveh as a great city. And that description runs through the whole book. 

Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city (2:1)

Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city (3:1)

Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city (3:3)

And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city (4:11)

Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, a superpower of the time. We see the population of Nineveh is about 120,000.00, a massive number for its time. It takes three days to walk across the city. Assyria is present-day Iraq (Mesopotamia). And the city of Nineveh is a city in Iraq called Mosul. History has it that Nineveh was a trade centre and an affluent city of the then world. It was known for its massive buildings and water infrastructure.  

Assyria had a ruthless and wicked army that brought fear into the hearts of other kings. Assyria at a point was used by God to discipline Israel for their sins by carrying Israel to captivity (2Kings 15:23-29). From 2Kings 15: 23-28, we are told the Kings of Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Then in 2Kings 15:29, the King of Assyria came to carry them to captivity. A similar narrative is given again in 2Kings 17:22-23 where the Israelites are recorded to walk in ways not pleasing to God. And they were carried into captivity

All of these texts point out the fact that Assyria was a longstanding enemy of Israel. Why will God then send a Hebrew prophet to enemy territory to call them to repentance? Jonah will have none of that. He will not be the one to go preach to Nineveh for God to have mercy on Nineveh. 

There is a little phrase in Jonah’s prayers to God that tells of his prejudice: “when I was yet in my country.” He will be in his country. He will have nothing to do with an enemy of his country. He will not have anything to do with a land that has terrorised his people. They are our enemies, they must be destroyed. And sadly today, we see this all over the place by many so-called Christians. Praying and wishing for the destruction of their so-called enemy.

Self-Righteousness

This is one of the clearest of the reasons Jonah will not go to Nineveh: Self-Righteousness. Look at verse 3: 

Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live

This right there is the proverbial over my dead body! I will rather die than see this city saved. Jonah is depressed! He is suicidal. He will rather die than see God save the people of Nineveh. This is the peak of self-righteousness. And verse 4 is very intriguing. God asked Jonah a question which bothers on self-righteousness: And the Lord said, Do you do well to be angry? This question is simply asking “Are you justified to be angry?” 

As the narrative goes on, Jonah now finds somewhere to sit and to watch what will happen next. It’s like he can’t believe what is going on. He wants to watch and be sure. Maybe he is not seeing well. (Jonah 4:5)

Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the sahde, till he should see what will become of the city

Do you get what is going on? He is still not satisfied. Then God exposed Jonah’s self-righteousness: Firstly, God appointed a plant to cover Jonah and save him from the scorching sun: (Jonah 4:6).

Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant

See, the same mercy Jonah is angry about is the same mercy shown Jonah and he was exceedingly glad. Such an irony. And this is typical of humans. So long as we are the recipients of good things, we are fine. But the problems begin when it happens to other people.

This is self-righteousness to think we are more deseerving of God’s mercy than other. Here is a prophet of God, a believer with such evil attitude. 

So how do we deal with any such evil that may lodge in our hearts. Truth be told, we may not be any different than Jonah. His is a representative picture of what all of us are capable of. Though saved, there are still residuals of sin seated in our hearts. We may even carry more darkness in our hearts than Jonah. 

Just like I said earlier, if we examine our hearts objectively, we will come out with the true state of our hearts: jealousy, envy, inward looking, thinking ourselves better than others, evil thoughts, and many more sins that we ourselves may find troubling us.

What do we do? Is this a hopeless situation? No

Pray about your situation

There is a heartwarming truth in this narrative. Despite the evil in his heart, Jonah still prayed to God. Jonah was open about the state of his heart with God. The verse two is truly heartwarming: “And he prayed to the LORD” 

As believers, we should never keep our questions and disappointments from God. Including our anger. Is there something you are not happy about? Talk to God. Do you think you have been given a raw deal? Talk to God. Do you think God has not been fair to you in a situation? Talk to God. Pray. Share your heart with God. Don’t cover up the sins in your heart. Do not hide them from the Lord. 

You may be walking about holy and pious to other people. But what goes on in your heart may not be pleasant to show to the world. 

God Is Merciful

In the narrative, we e don’t only see the dark side of Jonah, but the narrative clearly shows us the character of God. As if by comparison, the anger of Jonah and the darkness in his heart is contrasted with the character of God. God is not like us. He is in the words of Jonah

A gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster (v.2).

God is gracious. He doesn’t deal with us according to our sins. If God is to deal with us according to our, sins, as Scripture has said, no one will stand.

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities (Psalm 103:10).

If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O LORD who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared (Psalm 130: 3-4).

These attributes or character of God is seen in the narrative. God has pity towards the sinner: 

And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?

“Who do not know their right hand from their left” This statement simply means  the people of Nineveh are a lost people. Unlike Jonah who kne the mercies of God, the Ninevites were an ignorant people and lost. And the one sent to bring the knowledged of God to them will rather not.

And God will not leave these people to themselves. He brings them to himself. He pities them. God warns of judgement to redeem from judgement.

God reveals his mercies to lost people through his word. And in God’s word, God has shown his mercies to a sinful world by the death of Christ on the cross of calvary. He died in the place of sinful men and women to pay the penalty of sin. 

God’s judgement is pronounced. The soul that sins will die. However, this death, this spiritual death has been averted by the death of CHrist on Calvary. Just as Jonah was sent to pronounce the judgement of God and to preach repentance, Jesus came on this earth to call sinners to repentance. His first message was “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand”. And just like the Ninevites, if we believe this message and repent from our sins, God will pardon us. God calls for a people to turn away from their sins and turn to Christ in faith.

I speak to two people here. Firstly, the believer who is struggling with sin in their heart. I want to assure you. If you indeed know Jesus, all of God’s power is available to you for a victorious life against sin. And your sins are not counted against you. Keep looking up to the graciousness and mercies of God. Christ died in your place.

And for you who do not know the Lord Jesus CHrist. You are still in your sins nd until you turn to CHrist, repenting and asking for forgiveness; you will perish in your sins. And the Good news for you also is that CHrist died in your place to atone—pay for your sins. You are not beyond redemption. I call on you to repent, turn from those sins and believe in Jesus CHrist for the salvation of your soul. AMEN

Facebook Comments