A healing presence in a hurting city

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord .

Jeremiah 29:4‭-‬9 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

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There were multiple prophets in the time of Jeremiah. Hannaniah was saying that it would be a short stay in exile. But Jeremiah was saying that they should prepare to be there for seventy years. Plant gardens and continue to be married and give away children in marriage. This was a multi-generational stay in Babylon. 

This is a specific prophet speaking a message for a specific place and time, yet we can still look at it for us to apply in our lives. There is something that we face now that no one in the old or new testament had to face. There is a lack of rootedness to our lives in the States. More than 1 out of 4 Americans have moved in the past five years. Americans have moved 11 times in their lives. The people of these times were largely agricultural.. They were born, married, made friends, and likely died on the same place. 

Rootedness enables the gospel to move not only in your life but through your life. "A rooted life in a place", an article on the gospel coalition website speaks on the danger of the unrooted life. There is power in sticking to a place and devoting time and energy to bettering that place. That can allow us to be a heading presence.

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Jeremiah never said what the Israelites wanted to hear. The Babylonians were the ones who tore open pregnant women and dashed babies against the city walls. Jeremiah said that they were to work and pray for the good of THESE people. God had not given up on Israel. God wanted them to engage this city even though the Israelites were hated and despised by them. This is called engaged alienation. Jesus calls all Christians to this as well. Do good to those who hate and persecute you. We are still called to it today in this day and age. We are not to assimilate, but not disengage either. The way that we can thrive is not to disengage in self protection or assimilate to the culture, but to engage even while alienated.

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We are to aim for Shalom. Universal thriving and flourishing... All is as it should be. Right not in our eyes, but in the eyes of God. To work for Shalom means to bring wholeness. Spiritual flourishing. Relational flourishing. Physical flourishing. We are not to expect perfection in our work towards shalom in our city, but progress. This earthly city should reflect, through our prayers and work, some aspects of our heavenly home. We will find our thriving in seeking the good of this city.

Hospitality to the lonely city

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. - Romans 12:10‭, ‬12‭-‬13 ESV

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: - 1 Peter 4:8‭-‬10 ESV

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. - Hebrews 13:1‭-‬2 ESV

Rev. Dan Whang

Hospitality is the friendly reception, acceptance, and welcoming of guests and strangers through kindness

It's using your home and other resources in a daily way that seeks to make strangers into neighbors, and neighbors into the family of God

The need for hospitality

There is loneliness in our city. Just because there is so many people does not address our need for relationship. Loneliness is one of the greatest problems of the current generation.

Loneliness is a result of sin. Between Adam and Eve there was perfect relationship. But that was broken and people now hide from one another. We are created in his image and He is constantly in relationship within the Trinity. So we were created to be in relationship.

The power of hospitality

The Gospel shows us that we are welcomed by God first. Jesus came into this broken world and exposed himself to all the pain and brokenness. He was lonely, so he would know our pains. He felt the loss of the presence of God in a way that we will never know.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"- Matthew 27:46 ESV

The cure for our loneliness is the intimate and close relationship with God. We need one another, but that is to point us to our need for relationship with God.

Practical steps

+ Pray for a hospitable heart and for opportunities to share it
+ Plan ways ahead of time to show hospitality
+ Look at every resource you have something to share
+ Don't always do it alone but work as a team
+ Pay attention to spiritual needs (not just fun and entertainment)
+ Press on and don't give up

Peace to a Divided City

Rev. Travis Drake

Seeing the division

Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.- Proverbs 29:8 ESV

Scoffers are a bit difficult to define. Scoffers are a type of fool. Fools are headed to death. The wise are on the path to life.

Scoffers are proud and arrogant. They will not listen to others or God. They are unteachable. They are wise in their own eyes. So how does this type of person set the city on fire? First, a city on fire is a desperate situation; it is a crisis.

The way they do this is by deceiving us. The prime example is the devil. He uses lies and decit to tempt us to greed and selfishness. That is what burns the city to the ground. When we allow greed and selfishness to reign, we turn in to ourselves. This makes us see others as our enemy.

But the chief enemy is not the person we are fighting with. It is the devil. We allowed his lie to take root. We must remember that we are not fighting truly with others but rather the devil.

Scoffers are not the only fool. There is also the slanderer. They are looking to stir up conflict. They use half truth and innuendo. They just want to see the world to burn now.

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.- Proverbs 10:12 ESV

Finally, there is hated. It is digging up past wounds. It wants to shame and tear down the offender. It brings about strife.

The book does not pretend that everything is happy and cheery. We will offend one another. The question is how we will respond.

Making peace

How do we make peace? Remove the source of division. Remove the fuel for the fire. Drive out the scoffer. Why? Because the scoffer is unteachable and will not change. This seems harsh. Remember the chief scoffer is the devil. We are called to drive him out. But we can't fight him ourselves. Why? We actually like the self glorification. We like holding grudges. The fight is not just external but also internal.

But we don't need to lose hope. God will drive him out. He will show us that he does save. How? Through the cross. Our past, present, and future sins is covered by the blood of Christ. He destroys the accusations of the devil.

How then does the city find peace? Through Christ. Jesus sends us into the city. We, the foolish, are sent to the city. And because Christ is in us, the city has peace. How does this work? We are the worse of fools. We are the scoffer and the slanderer. But in Christ, that slanderer and scoffer also died on the cross. The old you who scoffed and slandered is dead. So in Him, you will be peace.

Living out that peace

Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath. - Proverbs 29:8 ESV

We are to let go offenses as far as it depends on us. Both scoffers and wise are in the city, but the wise stand in the gap and turn away wrath. How? They bring the injustice to Christ. They leave the wrath to God. They bring those who don't know God to Jesus to increase peace.

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. -Proverbs 10:12 ESV

Love cherishes the offender as a friend to be won. It doesn't lift them up as an enemy. How? Because we look at them, the same way God looked at us. We were enemies with God, He covered our sins and He reconciled with us.

We cover over offenses. Love acknowledges the offense and covers it over. It is not that we ignore sin. We must wisely confront some sin and cover/overlook minor ones. This takes the Holy Spirit. This reflects our God.

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. - Proverbs 19:11 ESV

How do we practically apply this?

Accept the peace of Christ

Acknowledge the enemy is not just out there but also inside. Accept that God is enough for us. Accept the Jesus is King.

Examine the peace of yourself and the city

If you have the peace of Christ, are you living like that? Do your friends know you that way? Do your kids? Do your neighbors and coworkers know?

When you see division, do you try to turn away wrath? Or do you ignore it? Or does it get you worked up? Where can you bring more peace?

Commit to living out peace

As a Christian, this is a full time ministry. We cannot opt out. The people of God are peace because God has made us at peace. We are to see offenses as opportunities to overlook them.  This is the best clothes of those who are saved, of those who have tasted God's grace, His overlooking of our many sins.

God's Heart for the City

But God said to Jonah, "Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die." And the Lord said, "You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 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?"- Jonah 4:9‭-‬11 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Called To Reorder

We see how God shows mercy to Nineveh because of their repentance. Jonah was throwing a fit because of this. God grows a plant to shade Jonah. And Jonah is happy. Then God sends a worm to kill the plant. Jonah is hot and on top of it, God sends a scorching wind. Jonah is so upset now that he wants to die. Jonah is so worked up over this. God confronts him on this.

God talks about how Jonah is so worked up over this plant that grew up and died in one day that Jonah did not nurture or help to grow. God says he's worked up over this city of 120,000 people. A city of souls created in God's image with eternal consequence. God is confronting Jonah's priorities. How can Jonah be so worked up over these plants and care not for these people? And if not even the people, how about the cattle? Yes, some holy sarcasm.

So the book ends on this question. A question that confronts Jonah. But not only him, but also us, the readers. Are our emotions not also so misdirected? Do we not get all worked up over  such mundane things? How much consideration and care do we take with people, with souls? Should we not care enormously about their eternal destination?

Called To Respond

Jonah was angry because he wanted God to be like Jonah. Jonah wanted his enemies dead. He wanted God to agree with him. But we know that is not how it should be. We should become more like God! Jonah had pity on the plant. But God he had pity on Nineveh. Some translations use the word compassion or grieving. God had compassion on these people. God was weeping over these people. This warring and aggressive nation was not good, but God did not respond with just anger. God was grieved. This is what Jonah was struggling with... the complexity of God's response to sinners.

God says that these people do not know their right from their left. This is not a question of their intelligence. This is pointing out a lack of or disordered moral compass. They are ignorant of their lack of morality. God is not excusing their sin. But God has compassion. They are not foolish, but they are ignorant.

We see this complexity in Jesus. He hates sin, but he has compassion on the sinner. Jonah left the city seething. Jesus left the city to cover over the sins of those in the city.

Christians are called to love those who disagree with them. Not only that, but also love those who hate them, because that is what it means to follow Jesus. Jesus never considered sinners ignorant fools, but rather he had compassion. We are called to humility knowing our sinfulness, but also bold pursuit of souls to call them to the heavenly kingdom.

Called To Remember

We are called both individually and corporately to serve the city of Philadelphia. But we need to remember that we are first and foremost citizens of heaven. The kingdom of God is for the glory of God rather than man. It stands in stark contrast to the cities of men.

We are not serving for our fame or glory. God had already bestowed more glory than we can possibly gather in our lifetime in Jesus. We are not here for our comfort, our personal goals and dreams. We have more than we could ever need in Jesus. We are to remember our true home, heaven... and in doing so, we will better serve and contribute to wherever God has called us to.

Something better than anger

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, "O Lord , is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord , please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." And the Lord said, "Do you do well to be angry?" 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 shade, till he should see what would become of the city. 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. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, "It is better for me to die than to live." But God said to Jonah, "Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die." And the Lord said, "You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 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?"- Jonah 4:1‭-‬11 ESV

Rev. Travis Drake

Something better than anger

Opening argument (v1-4)

Jonah's complaint was that he was exceedingly displeased. He saw this as a great evil. He was very angry in his prayer to God. He was very unhappy about the repentance of Nineveh. A world in which God even forgives Israel's enemies is not one that Jonah wants to live in. This is why Jonah wants to die. Jonah does not want to serve a God that forgives more than just Israel.

In this culture, justice was crucial. One must pay for their crimes. Jonah felt that they deserved judgement and punishment. This was revolutionary in that time and age. Jonah felt angry about how these evil people repented in one moment and God forgave.

God asked Jonah if it was good for him to be angry. Jonah wanted to see the city burned to the ground. He wanted retribution. He wanted payback. Justice is restitution and restoration. Retribution simply desires destruction. But for true justice to be served a debt must be absorbed. Jonah didn't want God, he wanted something from God. God wanted good for Jonah. God wanted more than retribution for Jonah; He wanted justice.

Dramatic intermission  (v5-8)

Jonah runs away again, but he doesn't go as far this time. He goes just outside the city. The entire city of Nineveh has just repented and the only person who knows what is going on is outside the city. It is the same issue as before. Jonah is the same prophet who will not go. He is still struggling with the same issue as before the storm and the fish.

Why doesn't God just move on? Pick another prophet? Fulfill the death wish of this prophet? Because God sees progress. Jonah prays about his anger. Jonah doesn't run as far as before. God wants good for Jonah. God shelters Jonah from the sun with a plant. This is vitally important in a desert. But Jonah needs more than shade. So God sends a worm to attack the plant. Then the sun and hot wind attack Jonah.

Jonah is waiting to see if God will attack the city. But instead God sends a worm to attack the plant. God sends the sun and the hot wind to attack him. This is ironic. Then God uses words.

Closing argument

God asks why he is so angry over this plant. God asks if it is good for Jonah. Jonah replies to God in anger. He says he is so angry that he wishes for death. And it would be anger that killed him. Anger is what controls him. Jonah is experiencing tunnel vision from anger and the desire for retribution. Jonah is not free, he is a slave. Jonah needs to forgive them.

God finally closes the scene. He says, You, you pity this plant that grew in one day and perished in the next. But I, I care for this city. God is contrasting himself with Jonah. God cares for this city of 120,000. But where is God? God is outside talking to this one prophet. Why? Because the city has repented, but the prophet has not. Jonah is blinded by his anger. The people in the city don't know their left from their right. But Jonah is even more blind in his anger about Nineveh. He is the lost sheep and God is calling him back. Jonah doesn't know the way home even if he was shown it.

More than being told and shown the way, we need a rescuer. God has to save us, even from ourselves. God places difficult people and difficult circumstance in our lives for our good.

Application
Don't be trapped by your anger. (forgive, cancel the debt)
Don't be discouraged by your incremental progress

Do ask yourself, is your anger good for you?
Do remember that God was willing to go after one little sheep.

Turning

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you." So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord . Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish." 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.- Jonah 3:1‭-‬10 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Jonah turns (v1-3)

Jonah had just been through a life threatening storm. He had nearly died of drowning and spent time in the belly of a big 🐟. He probably still smells of fish guts. God calls Jonah again. Not only did God save Jonah, but God gave him a second chance at his calling as a prophet. God could've rightly sent his call to another person. Jonah knew how foolish it was to run from God. Jonah now knew that God would have his way. But Jonah reacts differently. Jonah goes to the city of Nineveh.

The city turns (v4-9)

Jonah goes into a three-day city. Bible schools debate what that means. Is it three days walk across? Does it take three days to see the whole city? Jonah gets there and one day in, likely at the outskirts of the city, Jonah gives God's message. It means Jonah was no longer rebelling or dilly-dallying. He was doing what God asked. Immediately, the entire city from the king down to the animals repent. They all turn from their sin from the highest to the lowest of the cattle. The bloodthirsty enemies of Israel repent from a five word sermon.

This was meant as a foil to the nation of Israel. But these evil pagan Assyrians, they met the first prophet of God, of Yaweh. They had no biblical basis or knowledge. But Israel has the word of God and prophet after prophet. And their repentance, turning to God and away from evil things is so so shallow. And not only the nation of Israel, but does this not convict us? We have the entire Bible, the full revelation of the gospel, the understanding of the fullness of God's promise. Our repentance is so partial, so shallow. We likely need to repent of our repentance.

Repentance is a lifestyle, not an event. The life of the Christian is one of continual turning from sin and to God. Our status as a child of God is secured by the life and death of Jesus. But if we will not repent and turn from our sins, it was affect our relationship with God. God will not cut us off, but our experience of God is impacted. Our joy in God and our intimacy with God.

God turns (v10)

The city repents without knowing what God would do. Jonah only preached of righteous judgement. The assyrian had no idea if their repentance would alter the coming judgement. They did not know what would happen. There was no word spoken of grace or love.

But the Christian has the guarantee of Jesus. They know of the mind-blowing grace of God. They know the story of the gospel. But we hear the gospel every Sunday. At some point it can become background noise. That's a dangerous place to be. So how do we avoid this danger? The text here is clear. We must repent. We must confront the sin in our lives and then look at the grace of God we have in Jesus. The gospel is only awesome and awe inspiring when we see how big our sins are... Grace becomes the driver of our lives.

Salvation Belongs to the Lord

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, "I called out to the Lord , out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. Then I said, 'I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.' The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord , and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord !" And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. - Jonah 1:17-2:‬10 ESV

Rev. Charles Han

Is this story a historical fact or is it a myth? Or is it a metaphorical story? Is it a story of Jonah's recovery from sickness at sea at an inn called "The Fish"? Let's take in the details. This story has no embellishment. It is told in a matter of fact manner. Jesus even refers to this story in literal fashion. If you disbelieve this story, then all your faith is questionable. The question here is not how believable this story is. The question is whether we have a purely naturalistic perspective. The Christian worldview is supernatural. How so? The major foundation is based on a supernatural event, the resurrection of Jesus. No naturalistic explanations suffice.

Down in the depths

Jonah went and ran from God when called to go to Nineveh. He said he was in Sheol. Even though the sailors had thrown him in, Jonah attributed his state to God. God had brought Jonah to the depths of despair. This drive Jonah to prayer and to cry out for salvation. This was not severe punishment. This was severe grace. God needed to wake him up. During the height of the storm, Jonah alone did not cry out.. All the pagan sailors were calling upon their gods, but not Jonah, he was asleep. Jonah was in spiritual slumber and stupefaction. God brought him to the depths of the sea to cause Jonah to awaken and turn to God for salvation. For some, God must bring us to the utter depths before we turn to God.

Down in the fish's belly

Jonah's prayer is not a cry for salvation. What was it then? It was a cry of thankfulness. It was a cry of praise and exhortation. Jonah knew the fish was God's salvation. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days. Jonah knew that he deserved punishment for his actions. He knew that he deserved death. But God heard Jonah and saved him. Jonah recognized the grace of God. He recognized that God was granting rescue to a sinner in the throes of rebellion. Jonah knew that he would not be entirely cut off from God. Jonah's troubles are a sign that point to Jesus. Jesus was cast into the depths of Sheol. He was dead for three days and then came back to life, like Jonah was in the tomb of the fish's belly and then spit out to life.

Salvation is free. But humanity refuses to accept it. Why? Vain idols. They can be literal false gods or other things that we hope will save us. Our talents, our dreams... These idols require so much of us, we forget God's everlasting love, security, and life. Nothing else can give this to us. God gives us hope, grace, and life by bringing us into desperation and deliverance. This is the way of following Christ till we see Him again.

Out onto the dry land

God was devoted to Jonah. He could have been left in that fish. God gave the prophet a second chance, a new life. God had not given up on Jonah. Jonah still had more to learn. God was not finished with Jonah. God could've just marked Jonah as unreliable and moved onto a new prophet. Jonah had failed, but God was not done. God had more kingdom work for Jonah. So it is with us, God will use us weak sinners. Take heart, stand up, and get back into the work of the Lord.