Are You Willing

This month we recognize and celebrate 120 years of ministry as a church.
Think about what this church has seen-the land run, Oklahoma state hood, it’s rang in 2 centuries, the progression of technology, the shrinking of the globe, and even survived y2k and 10/10/10 at 10:10…

Now think about what this church has done:
We’ve sponsored missionaries all over the world, was a huge part of Oklahoma Christian Missionary Society and Ladies Aid, helped found Phillips University and a preschool, countless groups and organizations have utilized our facilities for continuing education classes, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4H, Professional Business Women, to name a few;

We’ve encountered thousands of people-performed hundreds of baptisms, weddings, funerals, VBS-with other churches, combined youth with other churches, built this wonderful facility, and that ministry continues with our outreach into El Reno through CARE, Habitat, Mobile Meals, Blessing Baskets, LOGOS, it stretches across the state and nation with our giving through outreach, and now around the world with our partnership with World Vision.

God has taken what others gave and multiplied it beyond anything we could imagine. God still does that today. We are truly a blessed church. Hopefully you know by now we are striving to be faithful stewards and set a goal 3 years ago of 10% and then some-we’ve said it before-we’re not stopping at 10%.

What if we could do 20% or more? What if we could be the leader in El Reno and Oklahoma for what a church can do for God’s Kingdom? When we pray “your Kingdom come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven”…we need to take it seriously.

Jesus calls us to spread his Good News, and we all need to be a part of it. A couple of weeks ago we talked about how we can have an attitude like Jonah-that feeling of being entitled to what we have, but we need to have a different attitude-entrusted-when it comes to giving and being used by God. God wanted to use Jonah, but Jonah was not a willing servant.

Recap Jonah-now he’s ready to go…right?

Jonah 3: 1-10
1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you."

In his prayer from chapter 2, Jonah expresses no readiness to go to Nineveh; nor, when he reaches dry land, does he set off on his mission until he is again commanded to do so.

Sometimes we never learn, but God is faithful. Sometimes we make the promises, but never follow through, we have to be reminded. But God can take even the reluctant giver and do great things. Imagine what God can do with a willing giver. Are you willing?

Pick it back up in v. 3.
3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city—a visit required three days. 4 On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned."

Finally, after everything Jonah has been through he concedes to go to proclaim God’s message, yet he doesn’t fully embrace the message or his mission. This is evident by his half way travel through the city (1 day) and then he turns around…God I did it now I’m out of here…it’s evident in response to God’s forgiveness in chapter 4 as well…

Jonah’s unwilling entitled attitude also shows in the language he uses. The language is reminiscent of God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen 19. Jonah’s proclamation is extremely short and includes no call to repentance, unlike many other prophetic proclamations.

What do you think Jonah hoped or expected to happen? Even after everything that has happened is Jonah a willing servant? Who is being judgmental? Who has the hope?

This should give us all hope. That even when no one else believes in us, God always does. God believes in this church and in us-we can do more for the Kingdom. Are you willing?

5 The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

 6 When the news 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. 7 Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh:
      "By the decree of the king and his nobles:
       Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."

Their rapid reaction contrasts with the slow reaction of the prophet himself: he submitted to his God only after “three days and three nights” in the belly of the fish, but they did so after only one day.

Even though Jonah expected something else, hoped for something else, and probably preached in a way to be the least effective, it ends up being the most effective, since the entire city immediately turns from its ways and repents.

Jonah does not wish to be a prophetic voice calling for repentance, and does not ask for the divine judgment to be turned into mercy (again think of Abraham and Sodom & Gomorrah-Abraham asked God to spare the cities), but Jonah is still the most successful prophet in the Bible.

He achieves both repentance and mercy in an unparalleled complete, and immediate way-even the animals repent. The inclusion of animals in the acts of repentance is quite extraordinary.

If God can accomplish all this through one person in a half hearted, begrudging attempt, imagine what God can do if we are willing.

 10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.

Do you see? The joy is that God blesses Jonah’s words in spite of Jonah’s attitude. Power of the gift is exponentially greater than we can grasp…that even when we aren’t the proverbial cheerful giver, God still uses it…once given the offering has power beyond the attitude of the giver

God blesses beyond us. Even though we battle entitlement we are entrusted. We don’t deserve it, we haven’t earned anything, and yet we continue to be reluctant and unwilling givers, like Jonah.

What if we took on the mindset of God instead of Jonah’s?
    Our spirit would be more loving and the effect far more significant
If Jonah’s weak message can change Ninevah, can change the unchangeable, what would have happened had he gone in there with power, compassion, and the love and grace of God?

Think about a memorial gift-it’s a 3 way blessing for us, the family in whose honor we gave, and the charity we gave to and often when we give a memorial gift we can be overly generous and cheerful..even excited in our giving. Memorial gifts are a great example of what can happen when we are willing to share the resources entrusted to us.

How can we become more like God expecting and hoping for the best….are you willing?