Sovereign Over Salvation: It's hard to understand the mercy and salvation God offers to those who are far from him, even while enjoying the mercy we have received. In Jonah 4, we see that God doesn't offer salvation because people are righteous, but because he cares about them. Will we join God in proclaiming good news which saves the lives that matter to God? Or will we run from it, like Jonah? Recorded on June 26, 2022, on Jonah 4, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our "Sovereign to Save" sermon series from the book of Jonah in the Bible. Jonah's story is well-known both in and outside the church for his encounter with the great fish. But Jonah is really about the incredible heart of a sovereign God to save even his enemies.

Sermon Transcript

Today is the last sermon in our annual theme of The Greatness of God. Over the past year, I hope your view of God has grown to the point where God is high and lifted up in your mind, imagination, and experience in life. When we see God in this way, we’re able to live in light of reality (which is always the best way to live), but also, so many other things, which often make us angry or afraid, are seen in the right perspective and our lives gain more stability/peace/hope. Well, today we’re coming to the end of Jonah’s story. And we’ve said, the basic story of Jonah is well-known in and outside the church. But when you dig into what it actually says, you find it’s not really a story about a whale or even about Jonah. But rather, Jonah is about a God who is sovereign, with divine power/authority over all. So far, we’ve seen that God is sovereign over his creation, over life and death, over the times when we’re struggling in the deep, and last week, that God is sovereign over the nations, including both Israel and Assyria, both Jonah and the people of Nineveh. Today, we’ll wrap up this story by seeing that the reason that the sovereignty of God is good news is because our God is sovereign to save. He uses all of his divine power/authority to bring about salvation. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Jonah 4.

Jonah 4:1-11 (NIV), “1 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” 10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

If you haven’t been with us, let me give you a quick recap. About 2,800 years ago,