Be the Gospel

Welcome to the radio ministry at Cleveland church in Henderson. Margo is to make Christ visible Clearview is a place of genuine worship with ministries for all age groups and all people. For more information, visit us at 3485 Oxford Rd. in Henderson or visit us online@clearviewb.org now join us for this week's message by Pastor Otto this morning were going to look at what Jesus said about Joan is from Matthew chapter 12. If you have your Bibles turn their to verse 38, and the message is called be the gospel than some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, teacher, we want to see a sign from you but Jesus answered and said to them, and evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. Many of you may remember that about three years ago I preached a series of messages through Jonah called running from God the messages that are still out there. There on my blog site. The podcasts are still available and the videos were some of the messages are still there on YouTube.

The most amazing lesson to me in that series was not that Jonah was still alive after being inside the great fish for three days and three nights because God can do miracles. I have no problem with the fact that God can do a miracle in this world to me the most amazing thing was the fact that the people of Nineveh turned to God after hearing a message from Joan which was the shortest message in history.

Only eight words yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. Jonah must be some preacher eight words in the entire city and even the King degrees that their kingdom their city, state will turn to worse, the God of Jonah. What in the world happened this morning were going to learn something very simple for something very profound that Jonah did not just preach the gospel to them. He actually became the gospel before we try to understand that unpack what this really means.

The question I would ask to you and then work on that for a few moments. Have you ever heard the old adage, you are the only Bible. Some people will ever read of your heard that you are the only Bible College we got a little bit. You are the only gospel. Some people will ever see meaning it's not enough to preach the gospel.

We also have to live it out. Somewhere there is a disconnect.

What we think is what you get people saved is a track here's a track. After I eat my lunch and leave a pathetic trip to I will leave the gospel. Somehow you read them all. I got to get saved somehow we think all we need is just throw John 316 and Romans 10 at people and somehow it just changes their lives.

I'm guessing it cannot happen, but it's more that is needed.

We have to demonstrate in our very lives.

The death, burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What people want to see and the need to see is the gospel of salvation, fleshing out in us. They need to see that yes there is a man in her home.

Jesus Christ lives.

I can see him. He is no longer himself. He died to sell he was buried with Christ all things are passed away behold all things have become new. I could see the change in you can ask you this morning.

Can the people around you see the gospel of Jesus Christ and is a deeper question. Have you ever responded to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I ask you have you been to church and ask if you been baptized, and ask you if you join the church, and you taught Sunday school and went on mission trips.

My question this morning is have you actually heard the gospel of what it means that God came down gave his life for me died on in my behalf and trusting in him.

I can be saved and he is resurrected, not just in the world but he is resurrected in me. You cannot give the gospel if you don't have the gospel. I think part of the problem with a lot of people is that they think people get sick from the church. Anymore than want to do.

Bob don't care what the problem is there is no gospel in you to give out are you saved the question asked every week. The biblical question. Hopefully as we walked to this message, you will see what that really means. Let's begin. How did Jonah become the gospel to others. How did he become. I didn't say Howdy preach. How did he become the gospel to others.

Listen to Jonah chapter 1 verse one. It began with a wake-up call. The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Avatar, saying, arise, the Hebrew word arises: which means get up more than likely Jonah was asleep. Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city and cry out against it for their wickedness has come up before me.

I believe this was not just a call from physical sleep.

This was also recalled from spiritual sleep is how do you know that what was Jonah's first response. What did he do. He ran from God. You know when the people run from God when they have sin in their lives when they are disobeying God. They run from God. Case in point, Adam and Eve.

Adam, where are you. Why do we run because they had disobeyed God. You see, there was some kind of sin some kind of disobedience in Jonah and that's the reason he ran now want to get this principle here. When God awakens you to do something don't just see it as something now you are going to do for God or for somebody primarily is for you and God's calling me to work with children. You know I need our patient to pray for me is that what you gonna do for those kids in the nursery or in blaze. Ravana is what God wants to do in your life and God's calling me to go help out with Kindle it'll the people, so less fortunate than I am and adjustment breaks my heart is not really about them is really about you.

God wants to change your life and on preaching here this morning I'm doing this for you. But keep in mind of the first and primary beneficiary of this is me. Only God knows where I would be if I was in doing this.

It began with a wake-up call. But what happens. Jonah runs it unleashed a storm of troubles first form of the Lord sent out a great win on the sea and there was a mighty tempest like a cyclone on the sea so that the ship was about to be broken up into Jonah made the same mistake that some people make. I know God is calling me.

I know God wants to deal with me for right now I'm just returned got off I'm just going to go the other way. Sometimes what people do is stop coming to church and here's the thing.

The blame me a pastor sure feels like is always singling me out. I feel like he is talking about me. He just I just can't take that anymore the same time I go I will break this to you. None of us none of you are that important that every morning I put up your picture and for me is to let me say oh yeah this is good. I rarely get her. Oh yeah that's it that's it.

Now that will smash the hose. It's not what is happening really is you coming.

The Holy Spirit is convicting your heart and your your running from God face the facts. Sometimes people even move cities the most stated I just need to start over instead of repenting from your sins and say, God help me. I just need to stop so sometimes become new hobbies, new lifestyles, new friends, I give you another principle with this point. God may be out of your sight.

God may be out of your mind but you are never out of his reach. David said in Psalm 139. Even if I make my bed in hell you're there.

So what happens next. God unleashes a storm of trouble on Jonah. It brought discipline from God. Jonah was a man of God. Jonah was a prophet of God.

He knew right away I was going on.

God's after me to guess what he says in verse 12 he said to them, the sailors picked me up and throw me into the sea, then the sea would be calm for you fry know this great tempest is because of me. Jonah did not commit suicide.

Jonah did not say this just doesn't kill me, and they'll be all Jonah had to do was what step you will board. He said you guys have to pick me up and throw me overboard.

You have to offer me up as a sacrifice, because unless you do that this is really about me.

My God is after me. My God is going to discipline me. This is not about punishment. This was about discipline. God is about to deal with me now. By the way, let me explain this a big difference between punishment and discipline what is punishment. Punishment is when you're beating a child or beating somebody because you mad at them for what they did is focused on the past discipline is never focus on the past is always focused on the future punishment is about. You did this, and for this.

I'm going to do this to you discipline is. You may still spank or you may still do timeout or whatever you do, your purposes.

I don't want you to do this in the future, because you will lose your marriage, you will lose your your job. This is not good for you, so keep this in mind, I want you to change Jonah and you throw me overboard because as discipline time, something that God wants to teach me. Do you know what God wanted to Jonah, the very reason he ran. Why did Jonah run from God is that he was disobedient. Yes, why did he run if you read the rest of Jonah.

You realize that Jonah had a very difficult time understanding why in the world with the living God of Israel. Send him to the Assyrians why the world would God want to save the pagans.

I don't know you must be having a bad day God, because I'm not. I'm not following this, you know what they did to us. I'm not going God was going to discipline Jonah to change his mindset about the gospel, God was not. You didn't go to script plus you upside down inside the fish until I break you and spit you out on the shore and are you to go or what know this was not that God said I gotta teach you something Jonah. I'm going to change what you believe about what I'm going to do one day Jonah was about to get a glimpse of the coming death, burial and resurrection of the Savior.

How did that happen will Leslie.

Let's look at this for a moment to start with.

We just talked about it. Jonah did not just jump overboard. He had the sailors throw him into the raging sea, so also Jesus was taken by lawless hands and nailed to the cross when the fish swallowed Jonah and nosedived into the deep I want to hear what Jonah said.

He cried out to God and said, I have been cast into the deep by you. Some versions haven't you cast me into the deep minimum joy. You asked the sailors to do that to you know he's another no God through me into the city, so also Jesus. Jesus was not a victim of the cruel and the evil Roman soldiers of the hypocritical's scribes and the Pharisees.

Peter says he was delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, on the one hand it was a Roman soldiers nailing him on the other hand, was a father who put them on the cross. Jonah felt abandoned by God, and he cried out. I have been cast out of your sight, so also Jesus at the ninth hour, cried with a loud voice, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me. Jonah described his physical condition inside the great fish as the water surrounded me even to my soul. The deep claws around me and listen. Weeds are wrapped around my head so also Jesus when he hung on the cross death surrounded him, saying, overwhelmed him. He who knew no sin became sin for us, but what was wrapped around Jesus's head a crown of thorns. Jonah describes how he was cut off from the earth. He says I went down to the Moorings Moorings means the very foundation the roots of the mountains, the earth, with its bars close behind me forever, so also Jesus. Isaiah says he was cut off from the land of the living. I can go on and on. How long was Jonah inside the great fish three days and three nights. How long was Jesus inside the grave three days and three nights. What happened next.

The Lord spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. What happened to Jesus on the third day he spoke to the grave and it spit Jesus out. It was amazing to me is this.

When Jesus came back to life.

He did not disappear in the temple. He did not disappear on top of the Mount of olives.

He did not appear on the Sea of Galilee walk in the water, he actually came back to the same grave and came out to the grave. The same God who told the fish to spit them out is the same God who told the grave you can hold him down, letting go you see Jonah was not being punished inside the whale or the big fish. Instead he was being discipline to see what the gospel is really about gospel of Jonah is not you, my chosen people. The gospel is one day the Savior is coming who would die for the sins of the entire human race. He will be buried and he will rise again when we give another principle here when God disciplines his children. His goal is not pain. His goal is progress. Sometimes I hear people say things like that they give the hero somebody getting cancer. They get cancer. They have a regular loser job, something bad happens to them. Tons of things happening in a God is punishing me for years ago. I did this in this if you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, God is not going to punish you. He will discipline you. If you get into sin if you disobey him, he will take you to the woodshed, but he will not leave you bruised and battered on the floor. He will not leave you splattered with blood. Instead, he will leave you coming out resembling his son Jesus Christ. I have been through discipline. Many times folks every time allowed God to work in my life I became more and more like Christ. What happened next.

That led to a great outpouring of salvation listen to Jonah chapter 3, verse one.

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, arise, go to Nineveh, that great city and preach to it the message that I tell you, I gotta pay attention every word God says now go I will give you the message of the message was yet 40 days and no Nineveh shall be overthrown.

Know God says I'll give you the message not go before we look at the message. Let me say a word or two about the city of Nineveh, you have to pay attention this morning. Nineveh was the most ancient one of the most ancient cities of the world you find in the book of Genesis. In the early chapters. It was in Syria. Syria and its name was from the Samarian logo granular logo grammars like Egyptian if you ever see the hieroglyphs if the word is a bird. It's like this, making this up and be a bird of your stick figure of a bird. If the word is an eagle will be a stick figure of an eagle of the word is that alligators listing for and from there they made words and ideas and many of them's look like the objects. Did you know that the local Graham Minow are is a fish that was another town nearby with a similar name Nina Minow up which worship the fish goddess, non-Sherry noticing that imagery up on the screen in the middle. What she looked like a mermaid have fish and have human, more than likely the people of Nineveh also worship the same fish goddess. Their symbol was the fish, a Greek historian by the name of Barroso's tells us that the Assyrians had a myth that 1/2 fish, half man, God called Warners. Listen carefully on her came to them from the sea and brought to them wisdom and arts and sciences that is just a myth. This is not true. This is what people do they want to worship other gods instead of the living true God. So they create stories half fish, half man, God came out of the sea and brought them wisdom and sciences and knowledge in the 19th century, and archaeologists went into Nineveh for the first time an outside mother with this picture is not from Nineveh. This is from another place in Iraq. Nineveh, by the ways in Iraq and outside a large chamber. There was a vast relief carving on the wall of something that look just like this have fish, half human. The God oneness on now the text doesn't tell us, but I can only imagine what Jonah look like when he approached Nineveh know how long was inside the big fish three days and three nights in the tell us that whales have a multilayered stomach. The first level is where the food goes down just like this like a cow or a deer. I'm an expert farmer to the People laugh, you can see me drive a tractor or anything like that anyways. Anyways, the first level is where the food is broken down and if you see a coward and the pastor is chewing the card brings a backup choose the cut. Then it goes into the second layer where all the gastric digestive juices begin to attack it in the digestive. This man was inside a big fish for three days and three nights out every minute of the second layer or not, but I can imagine he is lathered with gastric juices. What you think is what happened with all that acid is working on him picture with me this big fish drifts up onto the shore. What people typically thing is like the big fish comes the shore spits them out in the back fence all the way back into the water. I think it just came and died, and I can picture this is big whale looking thing comes up onto the shoulder and people begin to gather and is still alive and still breathing.

And then it brow as there watching all this junk. This see this man crawling out. Oh my goodness, what you doing in there. Were you doing in there breathing. I crawled in here how long you been in there three days three nights where you headed to Minotaur to the Fishtown and you came out of the fish are you a God I'm not a God.

In fact, my God, told your God to swallow me and spit it back out. You don't have a God mine is a real God. And here I hope you took a bag. If not, it would been very fishy in it comes to the gates of Nineveh.

People are following him. You know the Bible doesn't tell us all the details and here he comes in the go this guy I saw him he came out of the fish and the sailors remember him as I go. That's the guy we saw him getting swallowed when I was three days ago and Jonah gives him the gospel by his very being. He doesn't begin with folks what we think is all he said was 40 days and you're out. I believe he began began the gospel with it on the prophet Jonah that your name sounds very familiar on the prophet Jonah.

I worship the God of Israel, but I found out he is also the God of Assyria, and one that he is sending someone who will die for your sins.

And he will be buried in just the way this fish spit me out the grave.

Discuss with him back out and he is a living God, you got 40 days to make a choice in the entire city said looking at you, we believe it because no one can do what you just did. Even the king said even put the animals in sackcloth and how do you get animals to repent. They were so moved by the person of Joan others said even animals got to repent what everybody in repentance mode not assuming you're looking at me going address too much speculation. I don't know. I want to see what Jesus said we read what you said in Matthew, I want you to see what he said in Luke chapter 11 read very carefully with me, and while the crowds were typically gathered together, Jesus began to say this is an evil generation. It seeks a sign and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Now, we saw that in Matthew, but now he says something very interesting.

What he said.

Verse 34 as Jonah stayed with me. Jonah became inside St. Joan I gave you the sign. He said Jonah became sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. Both it was not just any threatening words that change that city. Jonah in his body represented the gospel of Jesus Christ.

They could see the dead the burial and the resurrection of the coming Savior in this that we gotta get say you don't need a fish experience to tell people about Jesus. But everything we go through in life should testify to the world of the death the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ and you in your marriage.

Your wife should be able to tell this is no longer that man who used to be. He died with.

He was buried with him and he rose to walk in newness of life. The reason you children don't listen to you because you throw scriptures at them.

Let them let them see your life represent the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

Why the neighbors don't get saved you know other friends don't come all to hear you say oh John 316 is almost say to you live it out. Show them that you are no longer the old old things are passed away. Behold all things have become new.

One can give up some habits.

Now you will be on the audit are trying I'm a good Christian you like and you have the habit because you're not trusting in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.

That's the same power that God exerted in raising Christ from the dead is available to you the time is over. To legally track on the table to throw people. John 316.

Like Jonah, you have to become a sign with your life with your testimony and how can you do that is the job of the Holy Spirit to help you.

That's what he is given to you know what the Holy Spirit does for me. And as for you, he makes the life of Jesus real in me.

Can people see Jesus in I didn't say the meek and mild Jesus who walks around helping the poor and feeding the hungry I want I will ask you, can people see the death the burial in the resurrection of Jesus, and you that will change the entire nation around.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

And remember, it's not enough to share the gospel with our words is also important to share it with our lives be the gospel be a representation of the death, burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For more information visit us online@clearviewb.org and for today's sermon notes my blog site@avedonshaw.com