Series: Castaway Week 2: Real Repentance
Jonah 1:17—2:9
A lot of people will obey God up to the place where it touches the core of who they are.
God is relentless in His pursuit of those He loves.
Jonah’s repentance was built on a realization of 3 things.
- Repentance comes from The Futility of Life without God.
Repentance always begins in a note of despair.
There is a greater deliverance than deliverance from circumstances.
Jonah it would be better to disobey and hold on to the things that he loved than to obey and hold on to God.
- Repentance comes from The Emptiness of Idols.
All sin begins in idolatry. An idol is something you love something more than God, trust more than God, crave more than God. What do you want more than God?
- Repentance comes from Knowing Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Grace creates:
(1) Humility—you know how badly you need salvation & you’re not confident; Or,
(2) Confidence—because you believe you deserve it & that makes you proud.
(3) Passion… (a love for God; grace & generosity toward others).
Conclusion:
(1) Have you surrendered? Repentance comes from desperation; realizing the futility of idols; understanding salvation belongs to the Lord.
(2) Has your heart changed? Do you have passion for God & for others? That comes from plunging more deeply into the gospel, not of what you are to do for Him, but of what He’s done for you.
