Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. The account of Jonah and his
encounter with the big fish is primarily about the Lord's purpose
in teaching Jonah a few needful lessons, not the least of which
is that he will show mercy to whom he will show mercy, salvations
of the Lord, and that God will cause all things to work together
for good to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Yet the greatest teaching which the Lord brought to Jonah was
to equate Jonah with his own hardness of heart. It often pleases
the Lord to send His word unto His people even as He did to
Jonah. While it is true that the Lord called Jonah to preach
to the inhabitants of Nineveh, the main work of the Spirit in
bringing the word of the Lord to Jonah was to teach Jonah about
Jonah. Many preachers labor under the
notion that they are primarily sent to declare the gospel to
others and spend much time and effort in sermon preparation
and Bible study to that very end, as though by their eloquence
and execution they shall be useful tools in the Lord's hand. The
Lord is able to raise up stones to praise him, and can speak
through an ass as easily as through a man's tongue. God does indeed
condescend to allow men to speak of heavenly things, as the Spirit
gives them utterance, but it is folly for men to become enamored
with their own supposed importance in this matter. The Lord's primary
work in all of His children is to conform them to the image
of Christ. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn
among many brethren. The man who is not acquainted
with his own depravity, hardness of heart, and total unworthiness
to be a son of God, let alone a herald of truth, and his own
inability to perform it at all, is not taught of the Spirit,
regardless of his eloquence and ability to appeal to the reason
of men. or his supposed success in the
application of what he supposedly knows. Knowledge puffeth up,
but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he
knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
The Lord will plow his fields deeply before the time of sowing.
He prepares all things necessary for the application of the Word
in the heart of those whom He loves, whether that person is
the preacher or the hearer. The Lord prepared the city of
Nineveh for Jonah's benefit, even as He prepared a fish, a
gourd, a worm, and a wind for the same purpose. The Lord's
love for Jonah is revealed in the application of His truth
to Jonah's heart, even using His display of mercy to that
city for Jonah's benefit. The Lord often takes His time
in breaking up the fallow ground of His people's hearts in preparation
for the planting of His Word. The Lord will bring His people
to repentance, and He will accomplish His purpose in them even as He
has purchased their salvation. It is impossible that any of
those who are the objects of His love should ever escape being
taught by the application of His Word to them at His appointed
time. It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God. The world may go on in its
way to sure destruction, but God will faithfully lead those
that are His into all truth. That truth which the Lord is
pleased to burn into the hearts of His own is most often a much
more uncomfortable revelation than a few doctrinal teachings
with which men would like to define true orthodoxy. The Lord
will acquaint his people with a thorough understanding of their
own depravity, as they are made to exclaim with Job, I abhor
myself, and repent in dust and ashes. He will give them the
same lament, and work in them the same hope as the Apostle
Paul as he said, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver
me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. So then with the mind I myself
serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. He
will bring to their mind the preciousness of the Lord's work
in the earth, and teach them to love those whom the Lord calls
in it. By this shall all men know that
ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. We know
that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the
brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness
of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. These
are much more difficult lessons to learn than that kind of knowledge
which puffs up. Yet the working in and out of
these things is that whereby the Lord is pleased to manifest
Himself in His people. Have you been taught by the Spirit
that you have no righteousness of your own? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at ForThePoor at WinStream.net.