DuBois Light & Life Church

Thanks for joining us today! We hope that you experience the Holy Spirit through the worship and message this morning.

Thank you for joining us this morning! We hope that you experience Jesus through worship and the message.

Thank you so much for joining us this Sunday! We are so excited that you tuned in today! We hope that you are blessed by the sermon today, brought by Pastor Mark.

Thanks for joining us today! We hope you are blessed by today's sermon: Loving The Ones You Hate part 3

Thanks for joining us today! We hope that you are blessed by the sermon!

Thanks for joining us today! We hope you are blessed by the worship and message brought today.

We are so excited that you decided to join us this morning! We hope that you are blessed by the worship and message today as Abigial and Lemi share with us about their past and upcoming adventures with God!

Thanks for joining us this week as Amy preaches on HOW to trust the Lord!

Thanks for joining us this Sunday as we worship, and hear the Word brought by Pastor Mark Lutcher as He continues the Jonah Series.

“It’s better to admit you walked through the wrong door than to spend your life in the wrong room.”

Jonah heard God’s command to go to Nineveh and preach against its sin, but his heart was hard toward the people who lived there. Instead of obeying, Jonah traveled in the opposite direction and ended up in danger. It took a violent storm, a group of pagan sailors, a descent into the sea, and a great fish swallowing him before Jonah finally began to pray his way out of the mess he had created.

Jonah 2:10 says, “Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.” Jonah had finally arrived where God wanted him to be in the first place. His fearful assignment had not changed, but Jonah was beginning to learn that running from God was far more frightening than obeying Him.

As the story continues, the focus begins to shift. Until this point, we have watched Jonah’s heart toward God. Now, God begins exposing Jonah’s heart toward Nineveh. This city was Jonah’s specifically chosen classroom. Its people were the students, God had provided the message, and Jonah was about to learn a very personal lesson. God’s classroom would shine light into the darkest corners of Jonah’s heart so that both Nineveh and the reluctant messenger could be saved.

The darkness in Jonah’s heart was revealed through his attitude toward people he considered unlovely. That description came from Jonah, not from God. It raises a difficult question for us: Do we have people we have labeled unlovely, undeserving, or beyond hope? If so, what is the posture of our hearts toward them?

In Jonah 3, God spoke to Jonah a second time and told him to get up, go to Nineveh, and deliver the message he had been given. This time, Jonah obeyed. He entered the city and warned the people that Nineveh would be destroyed in forty days. Their response was immediate and astonishing. The people believed God, declared a fast, and put on burlap as an expression of sorrow and repentance.

When the king heard Jonah’s warning, he stepped down from his throne, removed his royal robes, dressed in burlap, and sat in ashes. The leader of a mighty empire chose to go low before God. Leaders can sometimes lead their people into sin by allowing it, ignoring it, or participating in it. This king, however, humbled himself when that sin was exposed. Every one of us is in our rightful place when we are on our knees, seeking God’s forgiveness.

The king called everyone in Nineveh to pray earnestly, turn from evil, and stop their violence. Jonah 3:10 tells us that when God saw what they had done and how they had turned from their evil ways, He did not carry out the destruction He had threatened. Nineveh responded correctly to its sin, and God responded with mercy.

But how would Jonah respond when the evil people he despised received forgiveness?

Jonah did not celebrate their repentance. He became angry. He complained to God because God had acted exactly as Jonah knew He would. Jonah said, “I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.” Jonah understood God’s character, but he resented seeing that character extended to Nineveh.

That is the danger of a religious spirit. It can speak hateful words while quoting Scripture. It becomes consumed with behavior, rules, traditions, and outward appearances while ignoring the condition of the heart. Most of all, it ignores love.

Jonah became so angry that he said he would rather die than watch Nineveh receive mercy. He left the city, built a shelter, and waited to see what would happen. At this point, we may feel ready to give up on Jonah. But if we decide we are finished with him, we begin displaying the same heart Jonah had toward Nineveh. As followers of Jesus, we can never simply be “done” with people.

Even in Jonah’s anger, God continued giving him grace. God caused a leafy plant to grow over Jonah and provide shade from the scorching sun. Jonah was grateful for the relief, but the following morning God sent a worm to destroy the plant. Then He sent a scorching east wind. Jonah once again became angry enough to wish for death.

God was performing surgery on Jonah’s heart. Jonah loved the mercy God showed him, but hated the mercy God showed others. He cared deeply about the loss of a plant that had made him comfortable, yet he felt no compassion for more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness.

God allowed Jonah to walk away, sit in his anger, and be led by his feelings, but He would not allow Jonah to remain comfortable in his sin. Some of Jonah’s discomfort came from his own choices, and some of it came from God’s correction. The Lord loved Jonah too much to leave the darkness in his heart unchallenged.

We must be careful not to become people who gladly receive grace while refusing to extend it. God pours mercy into our lives day after day, and He calls us to offer that same mercy to others day after day. His classrooms contain abundant grace, but they also contain lessons. Sometimes those lessons uncover attitudes, prejudices, and resentments we would rather leave hidden.

Religious groups often hold to high standards such as love, kindness, justice, and acceptance. Yet the same standards that unite people inside a group can be used to shut out those on the outside. Jonah’s hatred of the Ninevites reminds us that ethnic hostility, prejudice, and self-righteousness are not new problems. God’s mercy confronts every boundary we build around the people we believe deserve His love.

The book of Jonah ends with God asking a question: If Jonah could care so much about a plant, shouldn’t God care about an entire city filled with spiritually lost people? We are never told how Jonah answered. After Jonah 4:11, we never hear from him again.

Perhaps the story ends with a question because that question is now ours to answer. Will we love only those we consider lovable, or will our hearts reflect the mercy of God? Will we sit comfortably in judgment, or will we rejoice when lost people repent and are saved? God’s mercy is not reserved for people who look like us, think like us, or have lived like us. It reaches into every dark place, including the dark corners of our own hearts.

Most people know the story of Jonah because of the great fish. But the fish was never the point of the story. It wasn’t simply a miracle to amaze us. It was God’s instrument of mercy.

As we continued our study through Jonah, we were reminded that Satan’s greatest strategy isn’t convincing people that God doesn’t exist. Scripture tells us even the demons believe. His real scheme is much more subtle. He wants people to believe in God while refusing to obey Him.

That is exactly where Jonah found himself.

He wasn’t an atheist. He was a prophet. He believed every word God spoke, yet he chose to defy God’s assignment. That same temptation still exists today. We can easily convince ourselves, “I still believe in God,” while quietly walking in disobedience.

The fish was never punishment without purpose. It was God’s loving intervention.

Why did God prepare the fish?

Throughout Jonah’s story we see four clear reasons.

God prepared the fish to rescue Jonah from drowning. Had God wanted to destroy Jonah, He could have simply let him sink beneath the waves. Instead, God rescued him from certain death.

God prepared the fish to return Jonah to Nineveh. God’s calling had not changed simply because Jonah ran. The assignment was still waiting.

God prepared the fish to reach Jonah’s heart. Before God wanted Jonah’s obedience, He wanted Jonah’s heart completely surrendered.

And ultimately, God prepared the fish because He desired that Jonah would not perish. God’s desire has always been that His people know Him, submit to Him, and complete the work He has called them to do.

One of the most memorable truths from Sunday’s message was this:

“In your assignment is not just a message for others. There is a lesson for you.”

Every assignment God gives changes someone else, but it also changes us.

God’s discipline is always motivated by love

The message then turned to the characteristics of God’s discipline.

First, God’s discipline is perfectly suited for each individual.

God knew exactly what Jonah needed. If He had abandoned Jonah to the sea, there would have been no restoration. Instead, He patiently pursued him until Jonah learned to trust God’s instructions again.

Second, God’s discipline gives us a realistic picture of ourselves.

Most people don’t recognize the seriousness of their choices until they experience the consequences.

The church often struggles with justifying behavior God clearly calls wrong. Jonah probably had what sounded like reasonable arguments for refusing to go to Nineveh. Yet underneath those excuses was pride, self-confidence, and a diminishing fear of the Lord.

Sometimes God lovingly allows consequences because they force us to look honestly in the mirror.

As Pastor reminded us:

“Don’t wait until after the pressure and consequences hit before you say yes to God.”

Third, God’s discipline produces maturity.

Hebrews 12 reminds us that God’s discipline is always for our good so that we may share in His holiness. Growth doesn’t happen by accident. Spiritual maturity is often developed through correction, not comfort.

Finally, God’s discipline provides a new beginning.

Jonah chapter 3 opens with these incredible words:

“Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time.”

What grace.

Jonah failed spectacularly, yet God did not throw him away.

God had prepared both a ministry and a rescue plan for the minister.

One modern proverb summed up this truth beautifully:

“It’s better to admit you walked through the wrong door than spend your life in the wrong room.”

When God strips away every other resource

Sometimes God allows every other support system to disappear so we finally recognize our greatest resource is Him.

Inside the belly of the fish, Jonah had nothing left.

No control.

No escape.

No influence.

Only prayer.

The message reminded us that suffering is part of the Christian life. Philippians 1:29 tells us we have been called not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for Him.

Some suffering comes simply because we belong to Christ. Other suffering comes because we’ve walked away from Him.

Either way, suffering often brings us to the same place.

Prayer.

Jonah experienced physical exhaustion, mental anguish, and spiritual despair. That progression is familiar to many of us.

When we violate God’s principles, physical stress often follows. As life begins to unravel, mental anxiety grows. Eventually, if we’re not careful, we begin feeling distant from God and spiritually defeated.

When life becomes overwhelming, there is only one response that truly changes anything.

Cry out to God.

Three prayers that lead us out of affliction

The second half of the message focused on Jonah’s prayer and the three steps that brought him back into fellowship with God.

1. Pray a prayer of remembrance.

Jonah intentionally remembered the God who had been faithful before.

Even while sitting inside the fish, his thoughts returned to the relationship he once enjoyed with the Lord.

The first step toward restoration is remembering what life looked like when we were walking closely with God.

2. Pray a prayer of repentance.

Although Jonah never actually says the words, “I’m sorry,” his entire prayer demonstrates a changed heart.

Biblical repentance is much more than feeling guilty.

It is a complete change of mind, heart, and direction that turns us away from sin and back toward God.

True repentance always produces visible fruit.

Jonah realized he didn’t have to remain where rebellion had taken him. Instead of making more excuses, he cried out to God.

3. Pray a prayer of return.

Jesus gave the church at Ephesus this simple instruction in Revelation 2:

Remember.

Repent.

Do the things you did at first.

When we drift away from God, the answer isn’t complicated.

Go back.

Read your Bible.

Pray.

Spend time with God’s people.

Return to your first love.

Jonah captured that renewed commitment when he prayed:

“What I have vowed I will make good.”

In other words, “God, I’m going to do what You originally called me to do.”

God’s invitation still stands

Psalm 107 repeats the same beautiful pattern over and over again.

The people found themselves in trouble.

They cried out to the Lord.

He delivered them.

Again and again, God responded to genuine repentance with mercy.

That is still His heart today.

The reason for the fish was never revenge.

It was restoration.

The fish existed to bring Jonah to one place:

Remember. Repent. Return.

Wherever you find yourself today, God is still inviting you back.

Jonah didn’t sit inside the fish waiting for someone else to rescue him. He cried out to God and responded in obedience.

The same invitation is before each of us.

Don’t stay where you are.

Cry out to God.

Return to your first love.