1-28-24 Kenwood Church of Christ Live Stream

S.U.M. It Up! 1-24-24

   

1-21-24 Kenwood Church of Christ Live Stream

RUNNING FROM GOD: Mission Possible 1-21-24

RUNNING FROM GOD: Mission Possible 1-21-24              

 

Text: Jonah Chapter 3

 

Thesis: The will of God is fulfilled when we accept our calling.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Have you ever fulfilled the command of God?  Have you ever seen the amazing work He can do?  Jonah did not want to do God’s will, but when he did the will of the Father, he saw a miracle in action.

 

Is America too wicked for God to reform?  Is the US to far gone?. . . not by a long shot.

We need the Jonah’s of the church to accept the call and watch the work begin.

Jonah, when he listened to the call of God, shows us three aspects of the call of God-- (1) the work of God, (2) the word of God, and (3) the way of God.  Let us read the Word and pray.

 

”Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 

 

Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. 

 

When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” 

 

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.“

               Jonah 3:1-10 NIV

 

I.  The Work of God.  (Vv. 1-3)

 

”Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it.“

               Jonah 3:1-3 NIV

 

               A.  Listen to the call.

                             1.  Listen.

                              2.  Obey.

 

”His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 

 

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 

 

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.“

               2 Peter 1:3-11 NIV

 

              B.  Follow the call.

                              1.  Go

                           2.  Prepare

               C.  Fulfill the work.

                              1.  Do the work.

                              2.  Do the work.

                              3.  Do the work.

 

 II.  The Word of God.  (V. 4)

 

”Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”“

               Jonah 3:4 NIV

 

“At a recent gathering of seminary professors, one teacher reported that at his school the most damaging charge one student can lodge against another is that the person is being "judgmental." He found this pattern very upsetting. "You can’t get a good argument going in class anymore," he said. "As soon as somebody takes a stand on any important issue, someone else says that the person is being judgmental. And that’s it. End of discussion. Everyone is intimidated!" Many of the other professors nodded knowingly. There seemed to be a consensus that the fear of being judgmental has taken on epidemic proportions.”

               Bobby Scobey

 

               A.  The sin of the people

               B.  The righteousness of God

               C.  The hope of salvation

 

”He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.“

               Luke 24:46-47 NIV

 

“It happened that a fire broke out backstage in a theater. The clown came out to inform the public. They thought it was a jest and applauded. He repeated his warning; they shouted even louder. So I think the world will come to an end amid general applause from all the wits, who believe that it is a joke.”

               Soren Kierkegaard

 

III.  The Way of God.  (Vv. 5-10)

 

”The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” 

 

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.“

               Jonah 3:5-10 NIV

 

               A.  The judgment of God.

                              1.  “40 days”

                              2.  The sins of the people

               B.  The demand of God.

                    1.  Repentance

                              2.  Action

 

Johnny the painter, was big on cutting corners so he could make more of a profit. So when a church hired him to paint their wooden building, Johnny submitted the lowest bid, and was hired. As always, he thinned his latex paint with water to stretch it.

 

One day while he was up on the scaffolding -- the job almost finished -- he heard an oppressively loud burst of thunder, and it began raining cats and dogs.

 

The torrential rain washed the thinned paint off the church while intense winds blew Johnny off his scaffolding to the church graveyard, surrounded by puddles of thinned paint.

 

Johnny interpreted this as a warning from God above, so he got on his knees and cried: “Oh, God! Please forgive me! What should I do?”

 

God’s voice thundered from heaven: “Repaint and thin no more!”

               Ed Vasicek

 

"All roads lead to the judgment seat of Christ."

               Keith Green

 

               C.  The blessing of God.

                   1.  Compassion

                              2.  Grace

                              3.  Mercy

 

”I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.“

               1 Timothy 2:1-4 NIV

 

CONCLUSION

 

The way of God is holiness and peace.  Are his ambassadors listening to the call?

S.U.M. It Up! 1-18-24

    

1-14-24 Kenwood Church of Christ Live Stream

RUNNING FROM GOD: Finding Grace in the Belly of a Whale 1-14-24

RUNNING FROM GOD: Finding Grace in the Belly of a Whale 1-14-24

 

Text: Jonah Chapter 2

 

Thesis: Grace demands a personal response.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

What do you do when you find yourself in the belly of a whale?  Well, Pinnochio built a fire and smoked his way out, but that is just a fairy tale.  What would you do?

 

28 years ago I discovered that I had been riding the seas for some time.  At a church leadership conference, I saw the reality of the fish so clearly I could smell it.  The Lord showed me my deception and opened my eyes to Himself.

 

I once had a vision of coming to Cleveland and winning the town for Jesus.  After almost 3 years here, God gave me the chance to see His vision come true.  The only problem was that I was caught up in a fish and couldn’t see a thing.  God had reopened my eyes to His vision.

 

The second chapter of Jonah shows us a wonderful prayer of this prophet.  In this prayer, Jonah shows us how to get out of the belly of a whale.  (1) We must receive the grace God is extending.  (2) We must remember the God of grace.  (3) We must revel in the grace.

 

Let us read the chapter and pray.

 

”Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.“

               Jonah 1:17 NIV

 

”From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’ ” And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.“

               Jonah 2:1-10 NIV

 

  I.  We Must Receive the Grace God is Extending.  (Vv. 1-6)

 

In the Bible there are three distinctive meanings of grace: it means the mercy and active love of God; it means the winsome attractiveness of God; it means the strength of God to overcome.

               Charles L. Allen

 

”From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.“

               Jonah 2:1-6 NIV

 

“God’s grace is magnified my man’s ruin. The more keenly the ruin is felt, the more highly the grace is valued.”

               C. H. MacKintosh

 

              A.  Calling unto Him.

                              1.  In distress

                    2.  Executioner and redeemer

              B.  Regain perspective.

                              1.  Look past horizon to Holy Temple

                              2.  Saved in the midst of “lostness”

               C.  Seize the grace.

                             1.  Accept God’s provision

                           2.  Humbly grasp

 

 II.  We Must Remember the God of Grace.  (V. 7)

 

”“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.“

               Jonah 2:7 NIV

 

               A.  Never forget

                              1.  Great sin of the old testament people.

                              2.  Great sin of the church.

           B.  Memory demands action.

                              1.  Active prayer

                              2.  Active acceptance

 

In a small cemetery of a parish churchyard in Olney, England, stands a granite tombstone w/ this inscription:

 

“John Newton, clerk [pastor], once an infidel & Libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Faith he had long labored to destroy.”

 

You may not remember his name, but all of us know the song he wrote as a testimony of his life: “Amazing Grace.”

 

III.  We Must Revel in the Grace of our God.  (Vv. 8-9)

 

”“Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’ ”“

               Jonah 2:8-9 NIV

 

               A.  We can hold to only one God.

                          1.  Worship as God centered.

                              2.  Grace as connected to our God.

               B.  We must praise the one God.

               C.  We must commit to the one God.

 

Spurgeon illustrated grace with this story in his book, All of Grace. A man visited a woman he knew to be in great financial need. He visited with a generous gift to help her with her expenses. He knocked at the door. She heard the knock, panicked and hid so no one would know she was there.

 

The next weekend he told her about his visit. She said, "I heard you knock, but I did not realize it was you. I thought it was my landlord collecting the rent I could not pay!"

 

Let that sink in for a moment. The man came desiring to give, but she mistook him for someone coming to take. So often God is mistaken as one exacting payment from people, when the fact is that he is the one giving gifts to people.

 

So many people and religions in the world today are geared to think, "Here is what you must do for God." In Christianity, that is turned over. Our message is, "Here is what God has done for you!" That's grace.

               C. H. Spurgeon, All of Grace, Christian Heritage, 2008.

 

CONCLUSION

 

”And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.“

               Jonah 2:10 NIV

 

Now that is grace!

 

Are you in the belly of a whale?  If so, accept His grace and find freedom.  Remember His grace toward you.  Revel in the grace of our God who is overflowing with grace.

 

INVITATION

 

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.