THEME:
As human beings, we are conditioned to believe that some things can happen and some things can’t. No matter how hard we try, it’s difficult for us to imagine something extraordinary taking place. It’s hard to picture our dreams coming true. It’s even harder to believe that God might answer our prayers exactly the way we’d hoped. But God is not limited by our finite minds. I want you to believe, based on Jonah’s experience, that God can do the impossible
KEY SCRIPTURE:
Jonah 3:5-10
Jonah 3:5-10
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.
Through obedience you can experience God in fresh and powerful ways
Jonah 3:5b-6
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.
Repentance brings the miracle of humility and peace
Jonah 3:7-9
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.”
Jonah 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.
True repentance is a continual turning of the heart toward God’s grace
Do you regularly repent of your sins before God?