God is Merciful

MAIN TEXT: JONAH 3:1-10

HIGHLIGHT VERSE: JONAH 3:10
“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.” (NIV)

TOPIC POINTS:

1. God’s Mercy Proclaimed – Jonah 3:1-4
2. Mass Conversion Practiced – Jonah 3:5-9
3. God’s Limitless Mercy Manifested – Jonah 3:10

INTRODUCTION:

God’s mercy is His goodness demonstrated to those in distress. It is God showing compassion, pity or lovingkindness to those in need. Because of God’s mercy, any sinner can be forgiven and justified irrespective of the weight of sin committed.

Where would we be today if not for God’s mercy. It is universal, it knows no ethnic or cultural bounds. It is available for all who believe.

GOD’S MERCY PROCLAIMED

– JONAH 3:1-4, JAMES 5:11

Nineveh at the time of Jonah, was the capital city of Assyria. It was a city known not just for great wealth and splendor but for gross wickedness. They mistreated their captives, put them to death and gave no thought to the law of God. To them Jonah was sent to warn of God’s impending judgment.

The Assyrians were longtime enemies of Israel. This explains why Jonah was hesitant to go preach to them. He was being sent by God because God was willing to show mercy even to the enemies of the Jews. God calls us like Jonah to bring the same message of mercy through the Gospel even to our enemies today.

MASS CONVERSION PRACTICED

– JONAH 3:5-9, ISAIAH 45:22

When the people of Nineveh received the message from Jonah, they believed God. When the king heard of God’s coming judgment, he stood up from his throne and laid his robes aside. He put on sackcloth, sat in ashes and bemoaned his sins. He also decreed for all citizens to repent and do likewise.

This is a mass conversion of a whole city from sin by the mercy of God. As we respond to the Gospel, we must encourage those around us, family, friends, colleagues, to turn from sin to God’s mercy.

GOD’S LIMITLESS MERCY MANIFESTED

– JONAH 3:10, JEREMIAH 18:7-10

God had threatened to bring disaster upon the people of Nineveh. When they heard the warning and repented, God had compassion on them and relented from His judgment. God is both just and merciful – if we turn from sin and turn to Him in dust and ashes, he forgives us and restores us, if we turn from Him and turn to sin, we receive due justice.

God is rich in mercy, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. He never turns away any sinner who turns to Him for mercy.

CONCLUSION:

God is by nature merciful, even to the worst of sinners. The people of Nineveh, known for being barbaric and wicked, turned from sin and received God’s mercy. God’s mercy transcends the categories of justice and is made available through Christ to everyone who believes.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end,

They are new every morning,
New every morning,
Great is your faithfulness, O LORD,
Great is your faithfulness.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

• Give a summary of our main text
• Recite our highlight verse
• What do we mean by God’s mercy?
• God’s mercy is limited to people of certain ethnicities and cultures, true or false?
• What city is Nineveh?
• Why was Jonah sent to Nineveh?
• Why was Jonah hesitant to go to Nineveh?
• How did the people of Nineveh respond to the message of Jonah?
• What can we learn from the story of Jonah and Nineveh?
• How can God be both just and merciful?
• If God doesn’t change, how can he relent from judgment?