Ministering: Pastor Shola Awobajo.
Text: Jonah 3:1-10.
“ 1 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, 2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. 3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. 4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. 6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything: let them not feed, nor drink water: 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”
As a Church, we are celebrating our 20th Anniversary this week. Indeed The Lord has been good to us as a Church. God’s Mercies has been our compass and shield although the trials and adversities we have gone through. His Faithfulness and Power has kept us.
From our above Text, The Word of The Lord came to Jonah the second time. Initially, Jonah disobeyed God but God was Merciful to give him a 2nd chance. It’s a dangerous thing to go against the agenda of God for your life, Jonah found himself in the belly of the whale but for The Mercies of God, he would have died in disobedience. We all need a second chance for every wrong course we have embarked on in life.
We need to pray for God’s Mercy in every place judgment is waiting for us. In Isaiah 5:1-5, God was disappointed in Israel (His Vineyard) and was berating them for their unfaithfulness and unfruitfulness. Even for us, we need to plead with God for a second chance. The prodigal son came back (Luke 15) to His Father and was given a second chance.
What Happens When Mercy Overtakes Judgment:
1. Offenses will be overlooked. – Prov. 19:11, Lam. 3:22-23
2. The punishments are waived. – Jer. 31:20
3. Offenders are forgiven and pardoned. – Psalm 32:1
4. The accused is discharged and set-free. – Rom. 8:1
God Bless You!
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