Once upon a time, your parents gave you your name. Your name was given in love. Do you know the meaning of your name? Look it up on the internet. Do you agree with it?
Sometimes in the Bible God renamed someone;
Abram became Abraham “What’s more,” God told him, “I am changing your name. It is no longer ‘Abram’ (‘Exalted Father’), but ‘Abraham’ (‘Father of Nations’)—for that is what you will be. I have declared it.
Genesis 17:5
Simon became Peter Andrew then went to find his brother Peter and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” And he brought Peter to meet Jesus. Jesus looked intently at Peter for a moment and then said, “You are Simon, John’s son—but you shall be called Peter, the rock!”
John 1:41-42
In Hebrew, Simon means “Listen”. In Greek it meant “snub-nosed’. If someone says that person is a rock, they mean solid, usually a good listener.
In both cases, God gives an extension to the meaning, he doesn’t change the context of the original name but identifies the person with greater meaning.
Abram was exalted father - applicable to his own family. But Abraham is “Father of Nations” !!! This became true physically through Isaac and Ishmael, also true religiously of Jews, Muslims and Christians and ultimately spiritually true since he is the father of all people born again by faith.
However Satan doesn’t call us by name - he is known as the accuser. Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has happened at last! God’s salvation and the power and the rule, and the authority of his Christ are finally here; for the Accuser of our brothers has been thrown down from heaven onto earth—he accused them day and night before our God.
Revelation 12:10
Satan instead labels us - ugly, fat, stupid, dumb etc and loves it when he has something to accuse us of - liar, thief, murderer, adulterer, gay ...
Where did the term “nickname” come from? The meaning is “also-name”. But be careful with nicknames as they are often negative in meaning e.g. Shorty. Another name for Satan is “Old Nick”.
But God calls us by our name, the one our parents gave us. One day as Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, out at the edge of the desert near Horeb, the mountain of God, suddenly the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him as a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw that the bush was on fire and that it didn’t burn up, he went over to investigate. Then God called out to him, “Moses! Moses!” “Who is it?” Moses asked. “Don’t come any closer,” God told him. “Take off your shoes, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Moses covered his face with his hands, for he was afraid to look at God.)
Exodus 3:1-6
See how God loves the whole of Moses’s family going back many generations! He is our Father, he knows us and he calls us by name.
So pay attention to your thoughts and the way others speak to you. Your name is precious, listen carefully for it.
The luxury steamship RMS Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic after sideswiping an iceberg during its maiden voyage. On board were some of the wealthiest people in the world and many emigrants on their way to start a new life in America. Of the 2,240 passengers and crew on board only 710 survived due to the inadequate number and quality of the lifeboats.
The Titanic was huge, 269m long, 10 decks high with massive engines and an electrical plant capable of producing more power than an average city power station. It was a monument to human invention but it smacked of pride. Inviting disaster, it is claimed someone heard the ship Captain Edward John Smith say "Even God himself couldn't sink this ship."
The facts are that the Titanic received 6 warnings of ice in the area over a period of 13.5 hours but continued full steam ahead for to reach it’s New York destination on time in what can only be described as delusional foolhardiness.
Titanic’s story continues to horrify us as a cautionary tale about the perils of human pride.
Pride is being self-reliant putting our security in worldly things
Pride is self-absorbed unable to think of others
Pride is delusional
Pride and fear go together
Pride comes before a fall
The modern definition of pride is positive rather than negative
Pride will be rampant in the last days
Tina shared last week, when someone has an illness and goes to the doctor, they are given a prescribed remedy. God’s remedy for pride is humility. Jesus said; Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12
The big fish had swallowed Jonah. Would Jonah swallow his pride and take his medicine?
Pray Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish: “In my great trouble I cried to the Lord and he answered me; from the depths of death I called, and Lord, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths; I sank down into the floods of waters and was covered by your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have rejected me and cast me away. How shall I ever again see your holy Temple?’ “I sank beneath the waves, and death was very near. The waters closed above me; the seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains that rise from the ocean floor. I was locked out of life and imprisoned in the land of death. But, O Lord my God, you have snatched me from the yawning jaws of death! “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord. And my earnest prayer went to you in your holy Temple. (Those who worship false gods have turned their backs on all the mercies waiting for them from the Lord!) “I will never worship anyone but you! For how can I thank you enough for all you have done? I will surely fulfill my promises. For my deliverance comes from the Lord alone.”
Jonah 2
The first part of the prescription is a healthy dose of prayer.
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
It's like God is giving us the keys to heaven with this verse. I can’t think of another people that are called by God’s name than Christians, this verse is for us!
Praying means admitting our need of God
The proud don’t bother to pray but the humble do
Remember the humble have God’s attention
Fasting was often part of humbling yourself
Finally when he hit rock bottom, Jonah prayed earnestly. That always gets God’s attention. For all the decisions he made up to this point in the story, Jonah hadn’t prayed. Sadly for many of us our pride keeps us from praying to God for help.
The good news is that the Holy Spirit will help us. It’s like the Nurse who is on hand ready to administer the medicine! In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
Romans 8:26
In fact the people of Ninevah humbled themselves and fasted For when the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne, laid aside his royal robes, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And the king and his nobles sent this message throughout the city: “Let no one, not even the animals, eat anything at all, nor even drink any water. Everyone must wear sackcloth and cry mightily to God, and let everyone turn from his evil ways, from his violence and robbing. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will decide to let us live and will hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”
Jonah 3:6-9
See how the wicked people of Nineveh upstaged the people called by God’s name - they prayed, they fasted, they sought God’s face and they turned from their wicked ways. What a great miracle Jonah was witnessing!
Repentance is the start of obedience. The Grace of God isn’t so we can continue on with our sin, it is so we can be free to obey and do good.
Obey 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
The Lord speaks to Jonah a second time but it’s the same word as before! His repentance didn’t let Jonah off the hook 😊 True repentance always involves obedience. In a crisis, a lot of people make promises to God but then after God has answered their prayer and things return to normal they go back to the way they were. They didn't truly repent.
I re-read the story of the fall of King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:10-23 and saw that at the heart of it was his pride. When Samuel found him, he discovered that Saul had disobeyed the Lord and done his own thing. Saul had built a monument to himself (v12) and didn't repent when challenged by Samuel about his disobedience.
Samuel replied, “Has the Lord as much pleasure in your burnt offerings and sacrifices as in your obedience? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. He is much more interested in your listening to him than in your offering the fat of rams to him. For rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. And now because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, he has rejected you from being king.”
1 Samuel 15:22-23
Saul’s pride lead to his disobedience - he thought he knew better Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
Isaiah 5:21
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
James 3:13
Jonah's Message
God didn’t ask Jonah to tell the people to repent. He told him to tell them that destruction is coming! Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
Jonah 3:4
Jonah didn’t have to tell them to repent - that was their response because they believed.
This generation is open to an explanation of why destruction is coming. The young believe the science behind global warming and they are prepared to take action.
Will we explain scientifically, with facts with history the reason why destruction is coming because of all the sin in the world - the pornography, the prostitution, not getting married, the breakdown of family, the corporate and personal greed, the gambling; drinking and drugs are leading the World to ruin.
Clothe yourself with humility In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.”
1 Peter 5:5
There is this choice we make to take on humility in our character, of putting on a coat and stooping down low. We shouldn't be delivering a message like Jonah's from up on our high horse. We need to get down real low.
While I was in England from 2000-2002, I learnt what this meant through my Home Group Leader Mark Baster, a very humble guy. It was Christmas and snowing and we went out to sing carols and so I was wearing my coat. And I had this thought of wearing my coat and stooping down really low that’s how I can best describe it. And so when we went out singing, I didn’t feel we were preaching but just bringing something good to people which they were free to accept or reject.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
Yes, choose the low road “Ye take the high the high road and I’ll take the low road and I’ll be in Scotland afore ye.”
Remember Jesus said “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Matthew 20:16
The first 3 béatitudes at least are for the humble; 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:3-5
There are plenty of great promises for the humble!
Gratitude
Jonah did not have an attitude of gratitude. But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord , when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.
Jonah 4:1-5
Find yourself disagreeing with the Lord over what he has done? Jonah was upset when the thing he had warned didn’t happen - that was his pride.
Our pride makes it difficult to see things clearly. Jonah should have been grateful instead. Ninevah, that great enemy of Israel had repented, there was an opportunity for peace!
Have we failed to see the good in something that didn’t go the way we hoped and given thanks for it? Have we failed to see the opportunity? If Jonah had carried the Good News back to Israel, perhaps there could have been peace made instead of years later when the Assyrians invaded Israel at the time of Nahum.
So Jonah went out and sat sulking on the east side of the city, and he made a leafy shelter to shade him as he waited there to see if anything would happen to the city. And when the leaves of the shelter withered in the heat, the Lord arranged for a vine to grow up quickly and spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head to shade him. This made him comfortable and very grateful. But God also prepared a worm! The next morning the worm ate through the stem of the plant, so that it withered away and died. Then when the sun was hot, God ordered a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah, and the sun beat down upon his head until he grew faint and wished to die. For he said, “Death is better than this!” And God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” “Yes,” Jonah said, “it is; it is right for me to be angry enough to die!” Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry for yourself when your shelter is destroyed, though you did no work to put it there, and it is, at best, short-lived. And why shouldn’t I feel sorry for a great city like Nineveh with its 120,000 people in utter spiritual darkness and all its cattle?”
Jonah 4:5-11
Jonah needed to see the situation from Heaven’s perspective and be thankful instead.
Trust in the Lord - Faith trumps fear Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
This is the doctors prescriptions for pride to be mixed together in the right doses;
-
Pray
Obey
Clothe yourself with humility
Gratitude
Trust in the Lord
Some people believe in fate. But the ship doesn’t have to sink! If we change direction we can avoid the iceberg.
If we turn around then just like with Ninevah, God will also turn around!
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9-14
My brother Colin is over in England at the moment seeing his 2 boys and meeting up with friends and family. He is also watching the World Cup and we are in contact daily. We were talking this week and I mentioned how I was speaking for the next 2 weeks and didn’t yet have an integrated message. He suggested to speak on Jonah. I thought to myself, I have already spoken on Jonah and since it was a while ago and I was running out of time, I could refresh the old message. Thankfully I decided to go back and re-read Jonah to see if there is something new to bring that I would have time to prepare. I got to verse 3 and instantly knew the message for the next 2 weeks.
The Lord sent this message to Jonah, the son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh, and give them this announcement from the Lord: ‘I am going to destroy you, for your wickedness rises before me; it smells to highest heaven.’” But Jonah was afraid to go and ran away from the Lord. He went down to the seacoast, to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket, went on board, and climbed down into the dark hold of the ship to hide there from the Lord.
Jonah 1:1-3
I gave away the clue in the 1st reading, so to check if everyone is tuned in, would any one like to guess the topics for the next 2 weeks?
It is Pride and Humility. Jesus said; Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12
Let’s give some background to the story of Jonah.
Verse 1 says Ninevah’s sin rose up to heaven and got Gods attention. How bad was Nineveh? It was Sin City.
Founded by Nimrod, the man described as a hunter before God, who founded many of the pagan religions.
One of the descendants of Cush was Nimrod, who became the first of the kings. He was a mighty hunter, blessed of God, and his name became proverbial. People would speak of someone as being “like Nimrod—a mighty hunter, blessed of God.” The heart of his empire included Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar. From there he extended his reign to Assyria. He built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and Resen (which is located between Nineveh and Calah), the main city of the empire.
Genesis 10:8-11
Nimrod was Noah’s great-grandson, his father was Cush and his grandfather was Ham, the son whom Noah cursed. If ever there is a lesson in the power of our words we should learn it from Noah. For by cursing Ham, no doubt, he was making Ham an outsider and a couple of generations later, Nimrod rejected the Lord to build a man-centred government and start the worship of other gods instead.
This excerpt is from a study on Nimrod Nimrod became the most feared man in the land. His power and wealth grew as Babylon grew. He made the laws, and those laws decreed that Babylonians should not look to the God of Noah as their ruler, but should be ruled by human governments. Nimrod’s gods included the sun and snakes and other kinds of things (Rom. 1:21-23).
The name of the God of Babylon was Bel which is a form of Ba’al meaning lord or master. Another name was Merodach, who was a Babylonian "God of War." (Jer. 50:2). In the Hebrew language the name was Baal. He was the sun-god consort Ashtoreth or Ishtar or Easter for which the festival Easter is named. Bel was considered the chief god among the many idols. Nimrod strengthened his power over his subjects by making himself the high priest of Bel, or Baal, and of Merodach. There in ancient Babylon were born the false beliefs that have wormed their way into almost every religion. Even today millions and millions of people who may want to live according to the right ways are not aware that their manner of worship follows very closely that of ancient idol worship and pagan rites begun at Babel. People today, calling themselves Christians, keep the Babylonian festivals of the Solstice at Christmas and of Easter, which is the festival of Ishtar whose consort died on a Friday and was resurrected on a Sunday. This consort often carried many names in the mystery cults, such as Attis in the west and Adonis of the Greeks, or Orpheus and Dionysus among the Greeks or Bacchus among the Romans.
One of Nimrod's schemes to hold people together under his rule was to build a tower so gigantic that it would excite everyone's awe and wonder. It was to be the highest temple ever built, and a monument to the sun god in the centre of a world-ruling government (Gen. 11:5).
Then God stepped in. He saw that Babel was only the beginning of the things men would try to do. If they went unchecked they would develop knowledge at such a rate the world would be destroyed. We all know that man always finds a way to use an invention for evil. Imagine what it would have been like if men such as Nimrod had been able to develop weapons such as we have today!
So the false system of worship at Babel was interrupted and the people dispersed unfortunately along with their other Babylonian gods.
So if you wonder where those ancient gods of Rome and Greece came from, and where the gods of Hinduism originated, you can trace them back to Nimrod and his cities of Babylon and Nineveh.
Woe to Nineveh, City of Blood, full of lies, crammed with plunder.
All this because Nineveh sold herself to the enemies of God. The beautiful and faithless city, mistress of deadly charms, enticed the nations with her beauty, then taught them all to worship her false gods, bewitching people everywhere.
Merchants, numerous as stars, filled your city with vast wealth, but your enemies swarm like locusts and carry it away.
There is no healing for your wound—it is far too deep to cure. All who hear your fate will clap their hands for joy, for where can one be found who has not suffered from your cruelty?
Nahum 3:1,4,16,19
The people of Ninevah were known for their wealth and prosperity. But it had been gained by deception and theft. Sound a little like Wall Street to you? Still happy that your pension plan is growing at a record rate?
The people of Nineveh were also known for their cruelty. If you think ISIS is bad, these guys were their forefathers. Assyriologist Archibald Henry Sayce describes the barbarities that followed the capture of a town: “Boys and girls were burned alive or reserved for a worse fate; men were impaled, flayed alive, blinded, or deprived of their hands and feet, of their ears and noses.”
And we know that as part of Baal worship, children were sacrificed on the altar. As an aside, is NZ honestly much different to Nineveh with its high abortion rate and the rise of the other gods of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam?
So Jonah was afraid to go. Ever had God ask you to go witness to the most unlikely hostile person? What stops us from reaching out to our neighbour - it is pride. We don’t want to be embarrassed, we don’t want to be rejected.
But as the saying goes, “Pride comes before a fall.” Jonah fell as far as you can go. It is a common theme in the Bible. Pride leading to a fall and then redemption. The Prodigal Son, Joseph, Moses, David, Nebuchadnezzar, Peter.
I was reminded that the moment Jonah said no to God in his heart he started his journey down away from the presence of the Lord. I noticed how many times the word “down“ is used.
Down to Joppa
Down from the wharf into the boat
Down into the inner part of the ship
Down overboard into the stormy seas
Down into the belly of the whale
Down to the bottom of the sea
Down into the belly of Shoel, the land of the dead
Jonah was falling. Just like the prodigal son, he would reach the point where he couldn’t go any lower. Why do many of us have to hit rock bottom before we will turn around. Surely it can only be our pride.
Pride and fear are together. Jonah was afraid to do what God asked.
Likewise their opposites, humility and faith go together but we’ll talk more about that next week.
Pride is something the Lord hates. Pride stops us from admitting we’re wrong and saying sorry. Pride stops us from seeing things the way they are. You have heard the saying “he has delusions of grandeur”. The person is full of pride and deluded about the truth of themselves.
Satan is also deluded about his position. “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
Isaiah 14:12-15
But it is our problem too in these last days; But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
2 Timothy 3:1-5
We are the generation who invented the selfie to post it on Facebook or Twitter. We are the ones who say Heh, look at me, it’s all about me etc...
Does this sound familiar? Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.
Ezekiel 16:49-50
The modern definition of pride is very positive; “a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of one's close associates, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.”
What’s wrong with that you might ask?
But to God, pride is our no.1 problem.
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, (pride)
a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.
Proverbs 6:16-19
So pride is the no.1 thing God hates I think because it leads us to independence from God and a relationship with him, and places our security in things. The very problem we have in the Western World and isn’t it interesting to see that with the rejection of the true God, there has been a rise of alternative religions like Buddhism among Westerners, and these gods don’t challenge our sin.
Recently our young adults discussed money - how much is too much, what should a Christian tithe? The point was made that you can’t serve God and money which is what Jesus said.
The problem with money is when it gives us assurance of security which we need to have in God instead. It makes us proud.
And the Bible also says For the love of money is the first step toward all kinds of sin. Some people have even turned away from God because of their love for it, and as a result have pierced themselves with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6:10
And what about the pride of the man in the parable of the rich farmer?
Then he gave an illustration: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. In fact, his barns were full to overflowing—he couldn’t get everything in. He thought about his problem, and finally exclaimed, ‘I know—I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones! Then I’ll have room enough. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “Friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Wine, women, and song for you!”’ “But God said to him, ‘Fool! Tonight you die. Then who will get it all?’ “Yes, every man is a fool who gets rich on earth but not in heaven.”
Luke 12:16-21
The trap that the man had fallen into was that he was secure in his money and his intention was it would be used for himself, he gave no thought to others. We can also be proud and think that we are secure when we have houses, investments and pensions but fail to see that God wants us to use it for his purposes and Kingdom.
So the warning is ultimately against pride. Our security is in God and nothing else.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:15-17
What is God asking you to do? What is stopping you? What are you afraid of? Is it what you will lose? Is pride a factor?
That’s why when the preacher makes the altar call, he says to come forward, it is really hard to do because it’s our pride that’s at stake. We hate to admit the truth that we need help, that we haven’t got it together, that we have sinned. That is why when we do humble ourselves, God is there to meet us as he said he would.
When Jonah was humbled and prayed, the word of the Lord comes to him a second time. It was the same word - Go to Nineveh and tell them that destruction is coming.
So if we think of Pride as a kind of illness we need the remedy and God’s healing which is humility, that’s what we’ll talk about next week in Jonah Part 2.
Once upon a time, your parents gave you your name. Your name was given in love. Do you know the meaning of your name? Look it up on the internet. Do you agree with it?
