Pastor Ben Dixon

What comes to mind when you consider the familiar stories from the book of Jonah? Have you ever considered what its message is to the church in these current times? Today, Pastor Ben takes us to a great place to find answers. Let’s see what Jesus has to say about Jonah that helps us understand its implications in our world.

Pastor Ben shares chapter 1 from his book "Prophesy."

As we study chapter 4 today, we come full circle and realize that this book is not just about the repentance of the people who are preached to, but rather the prophet who does the preaching. Unlike any other prophetic book, we get a window into the soul of a person who is nothing like the God that he serves. As we will see today, Jonah was not merely running from the call of God, but he was running from the heart of God.

One of the great lessons of Jonah’s failure and forgiveness is that God can continue to use those who return to Him. Thankfully, we know that God gives second chances to each one of us. Just like Jonah, throughout history, many spiritual leaders received a second chance to do what God had called them to do. Adam sinned in the garden, and God covered him. Moses murdered a man, and God called him. Elijah quit and complained then God re-commissioned him. Peter denied the Lord, and then at Pentecost God still used him. John Mark deserted the mission team at Pamphylia, yet God moved upon him to write the second Gospel.

God’s goal for each one of us is to walk with Him closely and to be a part of His plan in this world. However, like Jonah we can often run from, resist, and rebel against what God wants to do. That doesn’t always look the same, and many of us have even learned how to hide the reality of our running. However, God is committed to pursuing us, and even disciplining our lives if need be, in order to turn us around and get us back on track.

We can all relate to aspects of what we have seen in Jonah’s life. Here is the best part of all of this—God is not finished with Jonah, and He is not finished with us. It’s not too late! As the story of Jonah continues to unfold we see the mercy of our God in the midst of it all. This is the hope that we have—not that we are perfect or that we have done everything right but that God can give us another chance to turn things around. Aren’t you grateful for the mercy of God in your life?

Today we are able to see what happens when a person runs from God in their disobedience. The fact is, our choices affect not only our own lives but that of everyone around us. However, the longer we remain in a posture of disobedience, the more we forfeit our ability to love, help, and serve others. There will always be consequences to our sin, and before our hearts become hard we must surrender our lives to God and turn around before the damage becomes too much for us and everyone else.

Jesus didn’t think that Jonah was a mythical person. In fact, Jesus used the account of Jonah as a comparison when He predicted the three-day unfolding of His death, burial, and resurrection.

Pastor Ben shares a special Christmas message - that JESUS is the promised light in our darkness.

This is the 5th message in a series called Questions that Matter.  In this message, Pastor Ben talks about the heart of Jesus to restore us after we have failed and fallen.