From the beautiful book of Jonah we see how God provides our needs through His grace just as He provided the needs of Ninevah. Change for God IS good. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1561/29?v=20251111
It is said of Jonah the prophet that the subjects he addressed are indeed grand. God, repentance, faith, grace, etc. And that message is modern as well. And we get to study that wonderful message today here on the International Gospel Hour. Be right back.
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It’s time for our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jay Webb, and welcome to our study today as we embrace God’s Word to help us meet the challenges of today. Let’s open our Bibles and open our heart for this time of Bible study with our speaker Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour, a broadcast of the Churches of Christ. Here’s Jeff.
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Well, greetings to everybody. Great having you with us today for our studies here from the International Gospel Hour. We appreciate each and every member of our audience, and we’re so glad that you’ve joined us in our studies. You heard from our Jay Webb moments ago. You’ll hear again from Jay throughout our broadcast, as he will share with you some tools that are free that you can use in your study of the Word of God. But for now, let’s consider our study from Jonah, the third chapter, of which we will read in a moment. That is a tongue twister. Sorry about that. You know, my friend and brother Wade Webster speaks of the prophet of Jonah. I alluded to this as we began our broadcast. And Wade put it this way, the subjects addressed by Jonah are grand. God, repentance, faith, grace, etc. And the message that it contains is modern. In life, whether one flees as Joseph did in chapter 1, or pleads as he did in chapter 2, how thankful one is for the presence of God. And so was Jonah. And oh, how one should be thankful for God’s presence when we have our needs and to help us address the needs of others. And now, Jonah chapter 3. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, Yet forty days in Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and satin ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Do not let them eat or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily to God, Yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent and turn away from his fierce anger so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. And God relented from the disaster that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it. Friends, we’re going to take a closer look at Jonah 3 in a moment. But first, I mentioned our J-Web a little earlier. Here are the good words J has to say, and I’ll be back in about 30 seconds.
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Oh, for the presence of God and the need of forgiveness. From our study of Jonah, are we not grateful for the God of second chances? I would even add many chances. The psalmist in Psalm 86, 15, But you, O Lord, are a God full of compassion and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. It was Micah in Micah 7, verses 18 and 19, Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Now not only Jonah here who had the second chance, but think of a number of others. And if time would allow us to consider the second chance and more of others, let’s do as we can. What about through Jeremiah to a sinful Israel when in Lamentations 3, 22-24 says, Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him. What about David in Psalm 51 of his prayer and plea of forgiveness? Samson in his last plea unto God in Judges 16. We go to the New Testament and we think about Peter in Luke 22 where after he denied the Lord, or after the denial rather, the Lord looked at Peter. In John 20, he looked upon Peter, and in Acts and his writings of 1 and 2 Peter, how Peter looked upon the Lord and pointed the multitudes toward the Lord in obedience and faithfulness. How thankful for our forgiving Father, the God of second chances. You know, when an individual is a Christian, think about how God continually forgives 1 John 1, 7-10. Oh, for the presence of God… And the need of obedient faith. In Jonah 3 verses 1 through 5, as we read moments ago, how the word of the Lord came to Jonah. He commanded Jonah to preach the message to Nineveh that he told him to preach. That it would be according to the word of the Lord. And Jonah preached that message, yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. And the people of Nineveh believed God, and they moved on that faith, as we’ll see in a moment. You know, we’re reminded of Romans 10 and verse 17, where faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And indeed, when we think of how our faith comes through God’s word, with the assurance that God desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth, What a beautiful thought that we can move upon our faith. And as we’ll see in a moment, when the people of Nineveh believed God, they moved on their faith and showed their faith. When an individual who is not a Christian believes in God, they’re going to embrace the command of repentance because they need to change their hearts, change their decision, change their direction. Jesus commanded it in Luke 13, 3 and 5. Commanded it be preached, Luke 24, 44 through 47. And indeed repentance was preached throughout the New Testament. Acts 2, 38. Acts 3, 19. Where Paul on Mars Hill in Acts 17 said that God at one time winked at ignorance, but now commands men everywhere to repent. Verses 30 and 31. Faith will move one to repentance. Faith moves one to confess one’s faith. as the eunuch did in Acts 8.37, as Peter did in Matthew 16.16. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And then, friends, one is baptized based upon their faith and commanded by our Lord in Mark 16.16, He that believes and is baptized shall be saved. That’s what they did on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.38. They repented. They were baptized. And they received the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. And then we even find where the eunuch went down into the water when Philip baptized him in Acts chapter 8. The household of Cornelius. They were baptized based upon their faith. Remember, they sent for Peter to learn what to do. What beautiful, beautiful thoughts concerning obedient faith. Now let’s build on that when we look and consider verses 5 through 10 of Jonah 3. Oh, for the presence of God and the need of repentance. You see, the people of Nineveh believed God, but the account does not stop there. Because they believed in God, they moved on their faith. They proclaimed a fast. They put on sackcloth. They were coming to a point that they needed to make changes. Even the king did so. And then the king and his nobles commanded, Let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily to God. Now watch verse 8. Let everyone turn from his evil way. Friends, is that not repentance? A change of decision resulting in a change of direction? God saw their works in verse 10 that they turned from their evil way, and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. You see, in 2 Peter 3, 9, the Bible reminds us how the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Those passages we mentioned earlier concerning repentance leads one to the obedience of the gospel, Again, through one’s faith, repentance, and confession, and baptism into Christ, they are added to the church. Friends, have we given you some things to think about concerning forgiveness, obedient faith, and repentance? We have a wonderful study that we would love to send to you absolutely free. A study, a small booklet that is so powerful in its study, great material. Here is our J-Web to say a few words about God and man, how to be saved from sin.
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An additional Bible study by mail is now available from International Gospel Hour. It’s titled, God and Man, How to Be Saved from Sin. This study booklet addresses a number of questions about the salvation from God to man. And friends, like all materials, it’s free. Call us toll-free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, address, and just say, God and Man. Or you can go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the Contact tab, and leave us the same information, name, address, and type God and man in the message box. Another Bible study that is free from IGH. And our friends at godandman.com. That’s god-and-man.com. And, you know, since you can’t see it, let me just spell that out for you. G-O-D-A-N-D-M-A-N.com We’d love to hear from you.
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And friends, again, we hope that you’ll reach out for this free material, God and Man, How to Be Saved from Sin. How thankful we are for God’s presence when we are in need. His word teaches us forgiveness, faith, repentance, all salvation in Christ through our baptism into Him. Oh, for the God of second chances, and much more. To Him be the glory. We’ll continue our studies together at another time, but for now, thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour broadcast. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, keep listening.
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Thank you for listening today to God Be the Glory, and we hope that our study today will draw you closer to His Word to walk in His way. Feel free to listen to our other programs at our website at internationalgospelhour.com and join us next time.
