In this episode of Through the Bible, host Steve Schwartz and Dr. J. Vernon McGee delve into the profound and often bewildering story of Jonah and his mission to Nineveh. Despite Jonah’s deep-seated reluctance and prejudice against the Ninevites, God’s call was clear, challenging Jonah’s heart and mind about divine mercy. Across the episode, listeners hear reflections and testimonies from others whose lives have been changed by similar encounters with God’s word, illustrating that embrace of divine call is transformational. Dr. McGee’s insightful analysis sheds light on Jonah’s journey—a journey defined not just by geographical movements but profound spiritual
The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
What would you do if you felt God was telling you to pack all your belongings and move to another country? Would you do it? Would you be willing to leave your family and friends? What if the people God was sending you to were bitter enemies? I’m Steve Schwartz, your host for this Sunday Sermon on Through the Bible. And I’m glad you’re here as our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, shares his message called Major Motivation for Missions, straight from the fourth chapter of the Old Testament book of Jonah. Before we get started, though, let’s read some encouraging letters from our fellow listeners. The first is from a listener in Africa who writes this, Learning about the Bible has made me change my ways. I now long for the Holy Spirit to bear His fruit in me. I thought my efforts would do it, but now I realize I was doing nothing for it to happen. Thank you for sharing this amazing book and giving me the power to live my life as a believer in the Lord. Next, we have Carol from Texas who wrote, I used to listen to Dr. McGee when I was going through a divorce. Times were desperate for me and my children as I struggled to provide for us without additional support. Dr. McGee’s words inspired me to keep going and stay close to the Word of God. Years passed. I got away from listening to Dr. McGee until about six months ago. The first thing I now do every morning is turn on my iPad and listen to his daily message. It’s like discovering an old friend once lost, but now adding a new dimension to my life like he did in the past. Thank you for bringing Dr. McGee back to me. Welcome back aboard the Bible Bus, Carol. We’re so glad that you’re here with us. Our final note comes from Carrie, who writes, Dr. McGee’s preaching takes me back to when I was a little girl crawling all over the church pews, making faces at my brother and getting him in trouble with my mom for yelling at me during the sermon. Over the years, I lost touch with God until I heard your teaching. I hadn’t realized how much I missed being in church and hearing his word. It was like a part of me was awakened when I began to listen. I’ve now been on the Bible bus for a few years and I’m back in church. I’m thankful God didn’t give up on me and that your faithful teaching led me home. Well, we’d certainly love to hear your story. So why don’t you write and tell us about it? Maybe we’ll even share your note here on the Sunday Sermon. You can send a quick note in the feedback section of our app. Super easy to do that. You can also email us, biblebus at ttb.org is the address, or send your letter to Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. In Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. You can even leave us a voicemail at 1-800-65-BIBLE. Now let’s give thanks to God for his word as we open it together. Father, thank you for the lessons that you have for us, and we pray that many will come to you in faith as we study together. In Jesus’ name, amen. Here’s Dr. McGee with major motivation for missions on Through the Bible’s Sunday Sermon.
SPEAKER 02 :
We have divided the little book of Jonah in an unusual way according to either an airport timetable our Union Station timetable. There are always three things that are essential, and that is the destination of the plane or train. We do want to get on the wrong one. And then the time it leaves and the time it arrives. And so in the book of Jonah in chapter 1, Jonah’s destination is Nineveh, and he leaves Gath-Hefer in the northern kingdom of Israel, and he arrives in the fish. His destination in chapter 2 is still Nineveh, and he leaves the fish and he arrives on the dry land. Chapter three, his destination is still Nineveh. He leaves the dry land and he arrives in Nineveh. Took him three chapters to make it. And now in chapter four, we seem to have an addenda to it. But now his destination is a little trailer court outside the city of Nineveh. And he leaves Nineveh and he arrives in the heart of God. And that’s where missions will have to originate. And that’s where they’ll have to end, by the way. And so this morning, we want to see what this man Jonah did and then what God did with him. In chapter 1, this man did a strange thing. God called him to go to Nineveh. And this man bought a ticket and headed in the opposite direction. He tried to get as far from God and Nineveh as he possibly could. There has to be an explanation for it. And we made several suggestions. This morning, let me just say that he evidently As he makes it clear, he did not want Nineveh to be saved. He hated Ninevites. And we do know that Assyria was a brutal nation. They were making forays down in the northern kingdom, and they probably had come to his hometown, killed his father and mother, probably taken brothers and sisters away in captivity. That could have been it, but this man’s heart was against Nineveh, and he did not want them saved. And that explains why he went in the opposite direction. Then in chapter 2, we believe that this man did not spend a comfortable weekend in a Holiday Inn or a Ramada Inn or a Howard Johnson Motel. We believe he was dead inside of the Fitch. if he lived, and that would actually be no miracle. As we cited, there are many instances on record of men who’ve been swallowed by fish, and some for 48 hours, a dog for five days, and they came out alive. But I want to say this, it’s a miracle when a man is raised from the dead. And if you’ll notice, all of the miracle workers have never been able to perform that one. They claim some great things, but they’ve never been able to raise the dead. But this man was raised from the dead, we believe, and the Lord Jesus put the seal down upon this man and said, As Jonah was in the fish, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. And that was the sign. And we’re told that this man was a sign to the Ninevites. You see, he not only had a message, he looked like a message. He looked like he’d been in that fish for three days with its gastric juices and the acids that were there working upon his epidermis, making it a very peculiar color. And when he went into the city of Nineveh, he had no problem getting a crowd. They were there to hear him. That is, all he had to do was stop on a street corner and they would gather around and say, Brother, where have you been? And he could tell them. He could tell them the experience he had and that God had sent him to the city. And he had a most remarkable experience, an experience that no man has ever had from the very beginning, from Noah’s preaching down to the preaching of Billy Graham. No one has ever yet seen 100% saturation of the Word of God that brought 100% conversion. This man saw it. This man had the experience of seeing an entire city turn to God. And I believe that the greatest days of winning the lost will be really after the church leaves. We’ve had 1,900 years to do it. And we haven’t made too much headway. Thank God for what has been done. But actually, there are multitudes today that haven’t heard, and there are giant steps that need to be taken today before it is too late. Now, may I tell you that this man had that unique experience. Noah never saw 100% conversion. He got his family in the ark, and that is all. We find that From that day on, the Lord Jesus had to turn and say to his own, will ye also go away from me? The multitudes heard him gladly, but there came the day when they did not follow. May I say to you that Paul the Apostle, he said by all means, but not to save all, but to save some. And Martin Luther, he shook Europe, Absolutely, there was a transformation and the light broke upon Europe out of the darkness of the dark ages when the Word of God was translated into German by this man and the Reformation began. May I say to you, it was tremendous, but it wasn’t 100%. And you come down, John Wesley had remarkable results. He turned England upside down, the British Isles, but not 100% conversion. This man, Jonah, saw 100% conversion. Now, if you and I’d had that experience, I think I would have gone down to Western Union. I would have sent a wire back. to Jerusalem, and I said, rejoice with me, the revival is here. It’s broken out in the city of Nineveh. Now you would think that Jonah would do that, but this is to me the strangest part of the book. It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. May I say to you, it’s difficult to explain now the conduct and the attitude of this man. May I say to you that God had more problems with this backsliding prophet than he had with the entire city of Nineveh. When this man declared the message, yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be destroyed. It says they believed God. And you know, that’s all that God has ever asked any sinner to do is to believe what he’s done for them and that he is a God of mercy, but that he also is a God of judgment. And Paul, when he reasoned with Felix, he reasoned with him about the mercy of God and the saving power of Jesus Christ, but he reasoned with him about judgment. And that was a note I rejoiced hearing last night. that men are lost today, and they’re moving to a frightful judgment without Jesus Christ. And so this city of Nineveh believed God, and they turned to God. And this man is displeased by it. Now, why was he displeased? And I think now we have the insight into the heart of Jonah. And he prayed unto the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish. Notice now why. There have been commentators that said the reason Jonah acted as he did, he really didn’t know God. The problem is he did know God. Listen to him. For I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. May I say to you this morning, you and I haven’t any conception how gracious and merciful our God is and how he wants to save. But you see, he’s a holy God. And he has made one way for man to be saved. Peter said, there’s none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. And this is the message that must be gotten out if men are to experience the mercy of God and to know something of the grace of God. Because, my friend, apart from Jesus Christ, a frightful, awful eternity is near. before every individual, and it was before us today and would be if Christ had not borne that judgment death for us upon the cross. Now, will you notice, he goes on and says that thou art a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness and repentest thee of the evil. Jonah said when God called him and said, go to Nineveh, and speak to that city and tell them because of their wickedness and they were in evil. You talk about violence and lawlessness, this city was given to it and was dreaded and feared in the ancient world. When the Assyrian army moved, sometimes an entire population in a community would commit suicide rather than fall in the hands of these brutal Assyrians. And Jonah He just knew God was merciful and that actually God would save even Ninevites. And he says, those rascals, I don’t trust them. They might say they turned to God and then not do it. Or they might turn to God, and if they did, God would save them. He knew what God would do. And so he said, I don’t want them saved. And he headed in the opposite direction. And then God detoured him around. And then God sent him to Nineveh because God gave him a second chance. Now listen to this man. Having prayed this prayer, he says, Therefore now, O Lord, take I beseech thee my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. And this man now wants to die. May I say to you, I think he was the most miserable person on top side of the earth at this time. And the most miserable people in the world today are Christians out of the will of God. Dwight L. Moody in his quaint way used to put it like this, some people have just enough religion to make them miserable. And some people, yes, saved, but my, they’re certainly not enjoying the ride to heaven. and they’re not being used of God. It doesn’t mean very much to them. I won’t question their salvation because this man happened to be God’s man. But friends, God had more trouble with this back-siding prophet than he did with the entire city of Nineveh. Now God’s going to work on Jonah, and he’s his man. He brought his message. Now will you notice that God’s method, and I think it still may be his method. Well, you look very carefully now at what the record says here. He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust. God knows us. And he knew Jonah. In other words, God is a very good psychiatrist. without having read any of the modern books. And God understands human nature, and especially fallen human nature. He understands this old nature that we’ve got, that we got from Adam when he rebelled against God. Now listen to the Lord. Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry? And Dr. Young, I think, has the best translation here. He translates it, is doing good displeasing to thee. Jonah says, I want to die. And the fact of the matter is, I suppose that every one of you at one time or another in your life have said, I wish I was dead. You didn’t mean it at all. But that’s what you said. And it was because you were miserable or something that had come into your life. And Nobody as far as I know ever died by wishing. You’re safe when you say that, by the way. I don’t think anything will happen. I wish I was dead. Well, you won’t die from that. That is not incurable by any means. So this man says, it’s better for me to die than to live. And God says to him, look, Jonah, you have to admit that I’ve done good, whether you like Ninevites or not. I’ve done good. You’d have to admit that. I’ve saved Ninevites. Now notice, so Jonah went out of the city, and he’s in a huff now. He doesn’t like what God said to him. He’s out of fellowship with God, and you can be sure of one thing, he doesn’t have a friend in the city of Nineveh. And his hometown is several hundred miles away. And he’s homesick and he’s lonely. And this is when God is going to move in on this man. So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city and there made him a booth. I told you he was going to a trailer court. And he made him a camper. out there, only he didn’t have a Chevrolet to put it on. He just made him a booth there to live in. And I do not know this, but knowing the topography of the land, Nineveh and Calah and Chorsabad, the three great cities in that valley there, and it was very extensive, a great population there, that was all irrigated. And I think he went up on the hill, which was the protection for the city, where he could get a seat on the 50-yard line to see if Nineveh was really sincere. He didn’t trust Ninevites. He didn’t believe they were sincere. And the very interesting thing is… You ought to always read the little prophecy of Nahum with Jonah. For a hundred years later, the city did not turn to God. They lapsed back into idolatry. And you read Nahum. God destroyed the city of Nineveh, and it was lost to mankind and to history until Layard, the Frenchman, back in about 1850… saw that tale across from Mosul on the Tigris River and began to excavate, found out it was the ancient city of Nineveh. It had been destroyed. And the first thing that had destroyed it had been a flood that took out one corner of the wall that let the enemy in. And this city had fallen. But that’s a hundred years later. Now they’ve turned to God. And God has saved them. But this man Jonah says, I want to get a seat out there on the 50-yard line. I’m going to stay here till the fire falls from heaven because I don’t believe they’re sincere. And I know God. I know he’s merciful. And he’s saved these Ninevites. But if they’re not genuine, he’ll judge them. He’ll move in on them. And so he’s out there waiting. Now, this lonely prophet, this backsliding prophet, this prophet so unhappy he’d like to die, God’s going to close in with him. Now, will you notice? So Jonah went out of the city, sat on the east side of the city. There made him a booth, sat under it in the shadow till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a gourd. Now, this gourd is as miraculous as the fish because the fish was prepared. The gourd is prepared also. It’s just as miraculous. The Lord God prepared a gourd and made it to come up over Jonah that it might be a shadow over his head to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. Friends, may I say to you, he got attached to that little gourd that grew up. You see, God made this gourd come up now. And this man hasn’t anything that’s living that he can communicate with. And we are so made, even if we’re not gregarious creatures, we are so made that we want to communicate with somebody. There are a lot of lonely people in Southern California. Now, I, for years, as many of you know, I was really rough on owners of dogs. But I’ve learned to appreciate dog owners now. And it’s amazing how you can get attached to a little living thing. I was speaking several years ago at the Founders Week conference at Moody and some friends there invited me out to dinner. And just soon as I got in the apartment by the lady of the house, she wanted to show me her geranium. She says, I know you come from the place where they grow geraniums, but I want you to see mine. And I went in and a little stob was sticking out of a flower pot. And that’s all it was. There wasn’t a bloom on the thing. It was just a blooming plant. That’s all it was. And she said to me, she says, isn’t it nice? And she petted the flower pot and began to talk to it. And she’s a sane woman, I can assure you that. Very wonderful Christian. But she actually talked to the flower pot. She said to the flower, she said, He grows geraniums in California. And I want to tell you that if that geranium had spoken back, she and I both would have jumped out the window of that apartment. But she is attached to it. And I found out that you can get attached to a dog. I’m attached to a dog now, and I’m not saying anything ugly about dog owners anymore. May I say to you that my daughter brought home one night the biggest dog I’ve ever seen. I asked her when she came in with it, big husky, I said, did you bring the saddle? And I thought, my, we can’t keep this dog. And then there came along a A fellow took her away and took her all the way across the country and she said to me, now I’ll leave the dog with you. And you know what? The dog misses her and I miss her and the dog and I’ll sit on the patio. And you know what? I talked to the dog. My wife came to the door the other day and she said, who are you talking to out here? I said, I’m talking to the smartest dog in the world. And he and I take walks up in the foothills of the high Sierras. I mean, the Sierra Madre Mountains. Well, they all run together sooner or later up there somewhere. And we take a walk up one of those trails. And I talked to him, met a fellow on the trail, and he looked around and said he was with me. He sure was glad to get on down the trail, I’ll tell you that. May I say to you, it’s amazing how you can get attached to a little growing thing. Look, Jonah got attached to the gourd. I think every day Jonah got a bucket and went down to the Tigris and filled it with water and came back and he poured the water around the roots of it. And he trained the gourd to come up over his booth that he’d made there. And I think he talked to it. He said, oh, you’re running the wrong way. And, of course, he’d been running the wrong way too and was still running the wrong way. And he said, I’ll have to train you this way. Believe me, he got attached to the only living thing he could talk to. God’s doing this purposely. He really got attached to it. Now, you notice what happened? It came to pass when the sun did arise that God prepared a vehement east wind and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah and he fainted and wished himself to die. Here he goes again. And said, it’s better for me to die than to live. Now we have here a prepared fish. We have a prepared gourd. We have a prepared worm. We have a prepared vehement east wind. And all of them are miraculous, each one of them. And they’re just as miraculous. The vehement east wind was just as miraculous as the fish was. Now, God’s dealing with this man. He’s lost his gourd. The little living thing that he got attached to, it’s dead now and actually he’s weeping over it because it’s the only living thing. You say it’s ridiculous. May I say to you, it’s ridiculous the gourds that you and I get attached to in this world today. How many of us this morning have got a gourd that we’re giving our time, we’re giving our energy, we’re giving our money, we’re giving everything to that gourd. And what is it? Listen to God now as he speaks to Jonah. And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? Listen to Jonah. And he said, I do well to be angry even unto death. He says, this is it. I want to die. You didn’t destroy Nineveh, but you did destroy my gourd. He’s a petulant little prophet, isn’t he? He’s an unhappy prophet. He’s a miserable prophet. And he’s like a lot of the critical saints today. They got a gourd. And they don’t want anybody to take the gourd away from them. Now, will you notice? Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neither made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. God says to this man, Look, Jonah. How ridiculous it is you’ve given thought and attention and time and your affection to a little growing green gourd. And what is it? Nothing. Nothing. It came up in a night. I made it grow in a night and I took it down in a night because it’s nothing. And should not I spare Nineveh That great city wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand and all so much cattle. Jonah, there are 120,000 boys and girls and little babies in the city of Nineveh. And you wouldn’t want me to destroy them, would you? They’re the ones that didn’t know their right hand from their left. The Ninevites were a high civilization. They knew the right hand from the left. They’re not crude barbarians that we sometimes like to picture the ancient people and that we are the highly civilized folk. May I say to you, there wouldn’t be too much difference between the Assyrian and Los Angeles this morning. I think Nineveh and Los Angeles have much in common. God says, Jonah… You’ve given your affection, you’ve given your love, you’ve given your time, your resources to a gourd. And you’re angry with me because I have saved Ninevites. What’s God trying to do? Well, I think he’s not only trying, but he’s trying now to bring this man into step with himself. And since we believe Jonah wrote this book, we have every reason to believe now Jonah comes in step with God. God is saying to Jonah, Jonah, I didn’t send you to Nineveh because you love Ninevites. I knew you didn’t. I didn’t send you to Nineveh because of some emotional or sentimental appeal. I didn’t even call you to Nineveh because of the need of Nineveh. for you to see. I called you to Nineveh because I love Nineveh. And I wanted to save them. And now I want you in step with me and I want you to love Ninevites. I don’t know this, but I believe from here on, Jonah loved Ninevites. You say, how do you know that? Well, I know it works the other way. There’s a missionary here this morning, years ago, many years now. I asked this missionary when he went to the field, because when he came back, he showed me some pictures of some of the folk he worked with. Fine-looking group. And I asked him this question. I said, uh, When you went to the field, did you go because you loved those people? He looked at me in amazement and says, of course not. I didn’t love them. I didn’t know them. Never even seen them. I asked him the question. He’d been out there, I think, then around 20 years. I said, do you love them now? Tears came down his eyes. He’s a big fellow. A kiss came down his eyes and he says, I love them now. Look, God never asked you to have some sentimental or emotional experience. God says this morning, the Lord Jesus says, I love them. I gave my life for them. And I’ve saved you because I love you. Now you say you love me. If you love me, keep my commandments. And I say, go. I say, get the gospel out. I say, get the word of God out. Now, don’t tell me that you love me. I think if he’d speak to us this morning, he’d say to us, what are you going to do about missions? And there are folk here waiting for an emotion. They’re waiting for some sentimental appeal. That may be very personal. When I came here 21 years ago, a dear lady, she’s gone now to be with the Lord, and she was a dear lady, don’t misunderstand. She says, Dr. McGee, we’re glad that you’ve come down here because you love us. I shocked her. I said, I didn’t come because I love you. I don’t even know you. I came because I felt God called me and that I was obeying his orders. I’ve been here 21 years, and I know a lot of you folk here today and those that are listening in. And the biggest part of the church that was here when I got here, they’re already in the presence of the Savior. They’ve gone. I learned to love, oh, so many of these wonderful people. God says, if you’ll go, I’ll teach you to love them. Don’t wait this morning until you have some great emotional experience, you’re swept off. And there are many of you that are sitting cynically and saying, well, let’s hear what the missionaries got to say. If they can move me, I’ll do something. Wait just a minute. It’s not what the missionaries are going to say. The question is, do you love Jesus Christ this morning who saved you? Do you love him? Then cut out the nonsense. If ye love me, keep my commandments. Go. Ye shall be witnesses unto me. Are you a witness? That doesn’t mean to go around on the other side of the world, crossing an ocean they tell me never has made a missionary. But you’re a witness wherever God is called. You and I as believers have an obligation to get the word of God out. And all this is is just a channel that’s open for you and me to have part. That’s all. Have part in the ministry of a great many very wonderful folk. I want to rest reading this in conclusion because it moved me a great deal. As many of you know, I think the greatest revival, and I use that in a broad term, that’s taken place since Pentecost took place in the Hawaiian Islands. You don’t see much of it out there today. It’s not on Waikiki Beach today. We go out and meet with the Christians today. And you can, even with that faint odor of the lay orchid and with the beauty of those lovely flowers, and the music, you can still hear in the background the wonderful moving of the Spirit of God that came to those islands. Let me read this. It’s the 150th anniversary of the taking of the gospel to the Hawaiian Islands. Listen to this. It says it so much better than I could. How far is it from Boston, Massachusetts to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii? Less than 6,000 miles as the map makers measure. 10 or 12 hours as the big planes fly. Back in 1819, when Captain Blanchard’s brig, Thaddeus, left Long Wharf, the land of the bean and the cod was considerably farther than that from the land of the fish and the poi. 18,000 miles round the horn. Five or six months at sea without touching dry land. Forty times farther, in fact, than the moon to us now. The astronauts took only four days to reach the Sea of Tranquility. The fattiest journey through seas not so tranquil took 160 more days. Why did they go? That boatload of pilgrims, that missionary company we call pioneers? Why did they leave the familiar faces and places of all they call home for a land so different and so distant from their own? The answer is simple. They felt indeed they devoutly believed that God himself had called them to go. Not the board only, but the Lord had asked, whom shall we send? Who will go for us? And with varying voices and a single voice, 17 of them, seven couples from New England and three Hawaiian boys had answered, here am I, Lord, send me. Why had they come? They and the later companies who on other ships with other names and later decades were to follow the Thaddeus. The missionaries must often have asked that question. When the dust of Honolulu plains swirled, the rain of Hilo beat down, the letters from home failed to come when the flour was caked in the barrel and the baby died in his crib. When their children left to go back and reinforcements were long on the way, why had they come? Why? Some people would answer to convert the heathen, of course. That was why they came, to cast down the idols, to clothe the naked. Now listen, don’t you believe it. They came, most of them, for one chief reason above and beyond all others. They took seriously the call of Christ. Go ye into all the world to preach the gospel. All the world. And that meant Al-Hahi. That’s Hawaii, the Sandwich Islands. It was as simple or maybe not so simple as that. The missionaries, we call them now, and in Hawaii’s guided tours, nightclub jokes, wisecracks, people make fun of them. And that’s the thing that irritates you out there today. No article on Hawaii is considered complete without the rebellious hackneyed line. They came to do good and did well. The missionaries, a tall hat, a dark coat, and a face to match. Prudes, Puritans, fanatic Calvinists, who with their New England piety and petty moralities, they just simply spoiled Polynesia. But behind the silly stories, the foolish jokes, the tired falsehoods, the shopworn fictions, the missionarisms and Hollywoodisms, the quarter truths and out-and-out lies, do you see these people who came to Hawaii? Do you see the people who walked up that gang plant and waved their farewells? Do you see the people who, when they arrived, they set up housekeeping in a hut, they worried, walked, wondered, wished, wept, laughed, baked bread, pulled teeth, raised a garden, sharpened an axe, planted trees, fed chickens, taught children, sang hymns, worked the press, preached a sermon, prayed a prayer, and with it all somehow somehow, in some measure, believed, honestly believed that they had come to the Sandwich Islands for God’s own purposes of good. And who dares now to say they had not? They came into those islands where there was internecine warfare, where the natives were moody and not happy at all, where they were killing each other and offering human sacrifices. And may I say, every one of those missionaries was in his 20s. My friend, you’ll have to fall in love with Jesus Christ before you’ll even go to the man sitting next to you or your relatives with the gospel
SPEAKER 01 :
What a powerful reminder that missions must begin and end in the heart of God. Jonah ran from Nineveh because he didn’t love the Ninevites, but God loved them, and he still loves the lost. So what are you giving your time and energy and resources to that doesn’t really matter in eternity? And more importantly, are you willing to set it aside to follow God’s heart for the lost? Well, if this message stirred your heart, don’t ignore it. Ask God to give you his love for the people around you first and then step out in faith to share his truth. If you’d like help, you can call 1-800-65-BIBLE and request a pack of Bible bus passes. Each pack contains 10 cards with a QR code linking directly to Dr. McGee’s teachings. And if you’d like to listen to this Sunday sermon again, or maybe share it with a friend, well, download our app or visit ttb.org. And when you’re in touch, let us know how and where you listen, whether it’s a radio station, our app, Alexa, or some other way. Not only do we want to know so that we can make wise use of ministry resources, but if you listen on a local radio station, that information is hugely important to them too. So please let us know. As we go, let’s pray 2 Thessalonians 3, 5, asking the Lord to direct our hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ. Amen. Until next time, may God bless you as you walk with Him.
SPEAKER 03 :
Jesus paid it all All to Him I owe Sin had left the prison safe He washed it white as snow.
SPEAKER 01 :
Join us each weekday for our five-year daily study through the whole Word of God. Check for times on this station or look for Through the Bible in your favorite podcast store and always at ttb.org.
