Become a Messenger

Will you have been set apart, set apart and selected by our Heavenly Father, to receive mercy and to receive grace for a specific purpose? And we're going to talk about that purpose today. And to reveal that purpose, I'd like to read a passage of Scripture. It is a well-known passage, as it is a prayer. A prayer from a son to his father, and it's found in John 17. If you'd like to just listen to the words, that'd be fine. If you'd like to turn there, it's John 17. I'll be reading from the New Living Translation for this particular passage, because I believe that it brings out something important that points to our very purpose, as to being here today and being selected by God. And we should listen to these words very carefully, because in this final prayer holds the very purpose, as to why you have been separated from this world. And so John 17 opens up, where it says, Jesus looked up into the heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. And in verse 6, he says, And then in verse 15, he continues, Jesus Christ, he says, I'm not asking that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one. They don't belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth. Teach them your word, which is your truth. Just as you sent me into this world, I am sending them into this world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy through your truth.

And then verse 20, Let's stop there.

What a wonderful gift this is to have this final prayer recorded for us. And this was a prayer that Jesus Christ was praying to the Father just before his sacrifice.

These are precious words to you and I. Because again, within these words, hold the very purpose as to why you've been chosen and selected out of this world. And what is that purpose?

Well, it is to provide a message. Jesus Christ was sent into this world with a message from his Father. And this was a message of truth.

And he was sent to deliver this message to individuals to whom God the Father would select for him to give this message to. And God the Father pulled them specifically for Jesus Christ. And so as now he would go to depart to the Father, and he was now leaving now this message and the responsibility to give it to the world with these individuals. And so again, those words in which we just read, I'm praying not only for these disciples, not only for those whom you've chosen, but for all those who will ever believe in me through their message. And so this is your purpose revealed in the Son's final prayer to his Father. This is who you are revealed, your identity. Who are you? You are a messenger.

You know, a true follower of Jesus Christ, a true Christian, should never have any identity crisis. Because every single one of you here today, every single one of you, has been called. And we must realize why you were called and why you were pulled out. And if you haven't embraced your identity before today, today is the day. Because Jesus Christ made it clear, you are a messenger. The purpose of your life is to bring this message that Jesus Christ brought from his Father, and you are to bring that message to the world. This is why you were specifically chosen to bring that truth to a world that does not have it. And in this intimate final prayer of his Father, he prayed for you in this way.

He said, Father, I want you to protect them as they go forth to fulfill this purpose. Please protect them from the one that wants to keep this message from going forth. They are our caretakers of this truth, Father. And they have now carried this truth that I have taught him. And every disciple has known this. Paul, after his repentance and after him receiving mercy and grace from God, he deeply understood his identity from that point on. He deeply understood that he was a messenger, and he was dedicated to bringing future messengers to come behind him. Let's see this. Turn over to Romans 10, if you will.

Romans 10, in verses 11 and 12, we will see a burning desire in Paul here, and it comes through in his words. Romans 10 and verse 11, Paul here in Romans 10 is greatly concerned with getting the truth to the Israelites and the Gentiles alike. So Romans 10 and verse 11 and 12, he says, And then in verse 14 now, he turns his full focus on the messengers that will come after him and this responsibility to get this message out. And he asks these questions. Verse 14 and 15. Feel the emotion in these words. He says, And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, And this is the question for us today, and it is a simple question, and it is.

How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? How can they believe in someone or something if that message has never graced their ears? How can they hear if it's never been spoken? And make no doubt, you are part of those to whom God has selected, selected and given the life of his Son, given his life to partake in the riches, of his mercy and grace, to partake in the life of his Son, his Son, Jesus Christ, prayed that very night that he gave his life for you.

And what did he pray? He prayed. This is right before his sacrifice. He prayed, God, protect them so your word can go forth. Protect them, Father, because of the responsibility that we're giving them. Because how else will your truth go out? God the Father has declared in his plan to have a select group of men and women as to how this truth will go forth. And you are the very messenger of the Almighty Father, empowered and protected by his death, Jesus Christ's death and his rising up to life.

This is who you are. This is why you've been selected. And did you know that to that purpose, God has inspired a whole book of the Bible, a whole book of the Bible dedicated to revealing the purpose and the challenges that we face in being a messenger.

Anyone know what that book is? Let's go to that book. It's the book of Jonah. Let's turn there. Jonah and go straight to chapter 1. Jonah chapter 1. Jonah, if you hear that word many times, the first thing that comes to our mind is a big fish. Well, that's going to change today because the book of Jonah is absolutely fascinating in that it records in great detail. It's a Jonah's response to this responsibility.

And in reading Jonah's experience that we're going to go through today, if you're like me, very quickly you will see yourself in Jonah's experience. You will see your own life. You will see quickly see the same questions and the same apprehensions and challenges and feelings that are dealing with this role as a messenger. So let's see here. Beginning in Jonah chapter 1 and verse 1 through 3. Jonah here, the messenger. Verse 1 says, Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Ammitai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.

Jonah arose to flee to Tarsus from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarsus. So he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarsus from the presence of the Lord. Let's stop there. So here we find being introduced to Jonah here that he's being asked to bring a message to a wicked city.

He's being asked to fulfill this role as a messenger here. He's asked to go to Nineveh, bring this truth to this city, which again has been identified as an incredibly wicked city. But God says, Arise, arise and go. Nineveh had developed into a formidable city at that time, but they had also developed into a formidable wickedness as well at that time. And the book of Nahum actually describes this very city of Nineveh. Let's go to Nahum.

It's just two chapters back or forward. So it's Jonah, Micah, and Nahum. Turn with me there. We're going to go to Nahum chapter 3 and read verses 1 through 4. In this city of Nineveh, where Jonah was now being commissioned to go to, is now described here in the book of Nahum. And it's quite a city, as we will see here. So Nahum chapter 3 and verse 1 through 4, it says, Woe to the bloody city!

It is full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs. The noise of a whip, the noise of rattling wheels, the galloping horses of clattering chariots. Horsemen charged with bright sword and glittering spear. There is a multitude of slain, a great number of bodies, countless corpses. They stumble over their corpses because of the multitude of holler trees and of seductive harlot, the mistress of sorceries, who sells nations through their holler trees, and families through their sorceries. Let's stop there. So that there, described in Nahum, is the city of Nineveh, a city of great wickedness.

And God was just enraged by it. And so he goes to Jonah, this selected messenger, and he says, Now, Jonah, you go. You're my man for this mission. You need to bring this truth to them. But Jonah, to that commission, then says, No. And he arises, but he arises to flee to Tarsus.

Jonah had now set upon himself to determine in his own wisdom that Nineveh was not deserving to receive this message of warning. And maybe they weren't even capable in his thoughts. Not even capable to receive this message. So the messenger was looking to dictate who would receive this message.

And this book of Jonah, again, is no doubt inspired to be written for the education and the edifying of God's messengers. Because just like Jonah, we face many difficulties and apprehensions as we go forth as messengers. Jonah's role as a messenger was this discovery that was very difficult for him to accept. God was asking him to go down a path that he didn't want to go. And he's asked to bring a truth to a people who he knew weren't worthy to receive it, or really not even able to accept this truth in his mind. They are so far from God. There's no way they'd be affected by such a warning as God's truth.

But the fact is, to Jonah and to all messengers today of this truth, it is not for us to discern who and who not to give this truth to. It is not for the messenger's role. It is not the messenger's function to determine who God's truth lands upon. The function of the messenger is to give it, to arise and go and preach it, to spread that seed. And then it's within God's providence and within God's determination the results of that seed. And this is the journey of understanding that the four chapters here in Jonah move to discover. Much more than a big fish, we will see. As messengers, we have to realize that there's something wonderful about God. And that is that it is His will that all come to repentance. Even the Ninevites.

Murderers, those who practice sorcery, adulterers, the list goes on and on. It is God's will that all come to repentance. And it is the precious understanding as messengers that any cry out that God uses His messengers to give, any cry out against the wickedness of a people, any condemnation or declaration of judgment, is with the purpose of those who receive it to turn. It is for the purpose of those that this truth lands upon, and it is the hope that those that receive it will then change and repent from their ways. So that after the judgment warning is given by God, after it's declared, then He God will not have to end up doing it on the account of His mercy.

And that is absolutely vital understanding for God's messengers to understand here and to hear. Turn with me to Jeremiah for a moment. Jeremiah chapter 18. We're going to see that very thing here. Jeremiah chapter 18. And we're going to read verses 7 through 10. This is absolutely fascinating to read here in looking at our role as being a messenger. Jeremiah chapter 18 and verses 7 through 10. It says, The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I've spoken turns from its evil, I will relent from the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to build up, to plant it, if it does evil in my sight so that it does not obey my voice, then I will relent concerning the good in which I said I would benefit it. So God says there in verse 8, If a nation to whom I have spoken against, if they turn from its evil, I will relent from the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. Wow! Think about that. That is just incredible to read. But that understanding there is exactly why Jonah said no to God back in Jonah 1 verse 3. Let's go back to Jonah. Jonah chapter 1 and verse 3. Jonah knew had this understanding. He had enough to understand that if he went and pronounced condemnation, if he went and pronounced judgment against Nineveh, that there was a possibility that those people would turn and repent. And therefore, there's a possibility that God might show mercy upon them. If they did repent. So going back to chapter 1 verse 3 of Jonah, he says no. And he arises to flee from that commission. And specifically, Jonah did not want to deliver this message to Nineveh. He was a prophet, and he had been previously involved in delivering a prophecy of restored territory to Israel. He had been involved in that prophecy. It was a prosperity prophecy, a message that God spoke through Jonah to the Israelites. And that's actually found in 2 Kings 14. You can look that up later if you'd like. So he gave that prophecy there in 2 Kings 14. It was a prosperity prophecy. And so if the people of Nineveh turned after hearing this message from Jonah, and then if God showed mercy upon them, well, that might threaten Israel's territory, and it might threaten their prosperity. And besides, these people were evil, absolutely wicked to the core. Let God's truth land on anyone else but these wicked people. They're pagan. They're bloodthirsty. You heard it. They stumble over their own corpses, sorcerers, harlots. They won't accept, nor do they deserve this message of truth, this message of repentance that could lead to mercy being shown upon them. That was rushing through Jonah's mind. But God's response to that type of thinking, and God's response to Jonah, and God's response to all messengers is, and such were some of you. Foreignicators, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetousness, drunkers, revelers, extortioners. And such were some of you, messengers. But you were washed, and you were sanctified, and you were justified by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God. That's found in 1 Corinthians 6.

The truth of God once landed upon you, and His grace covered a multitude of sin. And when that grace came to you, whether you realize it or whether you accept it or not, you then became a messenger of that same grace. And you are to share that message so that other sinners may receive it. You see that it is God's will that none should perish. The Lord is not slack concerning His promises, but long-suffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That's 2 Peter 3.

And that is the hope, and that is to be the hope, of every messenger of God, that all will come to repentance. And so we have to ask ourselves, is that your hope? Is that your hope? Or are you running from this responsibility? Continuing here in Jonah, Jonah chapter 1, and we're going to read verse 3 again, but read 3 through 9.

And we're going to see Jonah as the running messenger here and what he has to go through. Jonah chapter 1 and verse 3, But Jonah arose to flee to Tarsus from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarsus. So he paved the fair and went down into it to go with them to Tarsus from the presence of the Lord.

Verse 4, But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. When the mariners were afraid and every man cried out to his God, they threw the cargo off the ship into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship and had laid down and was fast asleep.

So the captain came to him and said, What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call upon your God. Perhaps your God will consider us so that we may not perish. And they said to one another, Come, let's cast lots that we might know whose cause this trouble has come upon us.

And so they cast a lot and a lot fell on Jonah. And they said to him, Please tell us for whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? What people are you? And he said to him, I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. What a passage of Scripture that is. Let's review. Jonah tried to get away as far away as possible, and he found this ship going to Tarsus there in verse 3.

And in his mind, you can almost imagine that maybe at this point he felt justified. After all, that ship was there waiting for him. That's pretty convenient. Maybe it was God's will after all that I board this ship and go. Have you ever gone through that in your mind? Where it seems like we are running and justifying all the time. But we have to realize that Satan the Devil is more than happy to help us in our running from God. So he boards the ship, goes to the lowest part of the ship, and as it says in verse 5, he falls asleep.

The messenger of the true God now sleeps below while the people scream up above. And as verse 9-5 said, verse 5, All the mariners of the ship were exceedingly afraid, each crying out to their own gods.

At that time, there would have been those mariners, and many of the people at that time would have had a particular God to pray to, depending on the circumstance and the situation they found themselves in. They cried aloud for help and rescue, each to their own particular God, praying in desperation, casting the cargo off the ship, doing whatever they can.

And we see this, don't we, in the world today. We just had the horrific, horrific event. There happened in Paris with the terrorism, and there's no doubt more of that coming. And people, everybody, everyone in the entire world is desperate and beginning to do whatever they can to find the answers and to find rescue. The world tosses and turns with so many crying out for help.

What are the answers? Who will save us? And there, the messenger of God is asleep. Asleep in the commission that he or she was called to do. How many of us are asleep to this commission that is before us? As men and women cry out to their own gods, who will save me? How can we survive? Where is my hope? And underneath the deck, God's messenger sleeps.

Have we lost our identity? The captain of the ship went to Jonah and asked, What is your occupation? What's your occupation? And we could ask that of ourselves. What's our occupation? Are we a teacher, an engineer, a mechanic, a homemaker, retired? Is that your occupation? No. You're a messenger. A messenger. So while the chaos is happening above deck, we find Jonah asleep below, running and hiding from being a messenger while the people around him are in total desperation.

God had told him in verse 1 to arise, and there in disobedience, he slept. And he told them, I am the one. I'm the problem. It's my fault. There in verse 9, he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord and the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. That's quite an acknowledgment there.

I am a Hebrew. I fear the Lord, the God of Heaven. Well, do you, Jonah? You know, those words I can imagine just must have stung in hypocrisy as they left his mouth. So Jonah was cast into the sea. But God was not done with Jonah. You see, God is not slack concerning his promise, but long-suffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And so soon, in the belly of the fish, would be the perfect place for Jonah to think about what it truly meant to fear God.

The very same message of repentance, mercy, and grace that Jonah wanted to keep from the Ninevites, he would now need to call upon. Quite ironic. And so, in chapter 2, in verses 1-10, from the belly of the fish, he prays. We're going to read this prayer. And within this prayer, it really holds the essence of our motivation and what drives us to be a messenger here. Jonah really taps into it, and he's beginning to understand. So chapter 2, in verse 1, he says, And Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish's belly.

He said, I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and he answered me, Out of the belly of the shield I cried, And you heard my voice. You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me. All your billows and your waves passed over me. And then I said, I have been cast out of your sight. Yet I will look again toward your holy temple. The waters surrounded me, even to my soul, a deep closed in around me, weeds wrapped around my head I went down to the moorings of the mountains, the earth with its bars closed behind me forever.

Yet you have brought up my life from the pit. O Lord, my God! When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer went up to you into your holy temple. Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own mercy, but I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving, and I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. And so in verse 10, so the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Christ has prayed for your protection so that you could give a message. And as we go forth as messengers, we have to remember just this, just what hit Jonah. We have to remember the repentance and mercy and grace that once saved us. At one point, we found ourselves drowning with the deep closing in around us. The weeds were wrapped around our heads. Think back to that time. And then remember when a fish was provided for you.

A fish, even in the midst of your disobedience. When you received such mercy and grace, how can it be then? How can it be that we run from this commission of being a messenger? When we were submerged in baptism, we received the cleansing of our sin with the blood of our Savior. And we made a commitment.

And Jonah prayed in verse 9 here a prayer of recommitment as he says, I will pay back. I will pay what I have vowed. I will pay what I have vowed. And so we need to look at ourselves today and think about our recommitment. And praying to God a recommitment prayer for us. Recommitted. And think back to that promise that we made at that time. Personally, I can remember the day I was put back on dry land.

I'm sure you can too. But it's just a time that I remember that I was in such a deep sleep. Purposefully disobedient to God. Ignoring Him and running. And so funny, you just remember that time and the emotions are still there so very quickly to come upon. And that time when you were put back on dry land, saved from death, but you were only deserving of death. And you just think back to that time and think of what undeserved love. And what a prayer of protection that Christ prayed for me. And what a prayer of protection that Christ prayed for you.

Have you been saved? Protected? Brought onto dry land? Well, if you have chapter 3 in verse 1 and 2, it says, 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. Arise, messenger, rise and go. And if we have been running from this commission up to this point, well, God is saying a second time, arise, go.

And if you notice, the commission never changes. Arise, go and preach the message that I tell you. So today, we then look forward and we go forward as restored messengers with a heart that's been embraced by a merciful God. And no doubt, Jonah went into Nineveh, and he went to preach this judgment to them, but he would have been able to preach also his own personal rescue from impending judgment. What an effective message that must have been. He was able to bring both a warning and his own personal witness of the mercy that saved him from impending judgment.

And there's no stronger of a messenger make than that. And so it's absolutely remarkable how quickly the Ninevites responded to this message that Jonah brought them. And it was the whole city, absolutely the whole city. Look at chapter 3, verse 5 through 9. Chapter 3, verse 5. So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.

Then the word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by a decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd, nor flock, taste anything. Do not let them eat. Do not let them drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cried amidally to God. Yes, let everyone turn from their evil way and from the violence that was in their hands.

Who can tell if God will turn and relent and turn away from his fierce anger so that we may not perish? It's not there. So from the least of them to the greatest, even the animals, I find that fascinating. Fasted, put on sackcloth, and just this repentance permeated the very soul of the city here.

Did you see that? There was incredible spiritual insight here from the king. In verse 9, he says, Who can tell if God will turn and relent on his judgment? Let's do this because who knows? Maybe God will turn from his anger.

The king recognized that just because of their repentance, it wasn't an automatic that God would then relent from the impending judgment. That message that Jonah brought, there's no dictating God's grace. There's no guarantee that in their turning to repentance, that would then be accompanied by a relinquishing of God's judgment.

But the king says, but you never know. Jonah's God is a merciful God, and he may actually respond in this way. And that's a reminder to us, of course, that God's grace is applied by Christ's sacrifice, and it's an absolute gift.

An absolute gift. Our sin that we commit brings us only the judgment of death. Condemnation to death. We're worthy of nothing more. And the truly repentant then, repent with no expectation. They only bring themselves to repentance in humility. The repentant heart says, I don't deserve anything from you, God.

I don't deserve anything, but I come to you in repentance. It doesn't guarantee me restoration. It doesn't guarantee me to be put back on dry land. I put myself in your hands, Lord, knowing that I don't manipulate your hand. I come to you knowing I deserve death and expecting nothing. And this was the king's attitude. We don't know, but if we repent and bring ourselves to this repentance, who knows? Maybe God will show us mercy. And so in verse 10, verse 10, God is never inconsistent with his attitude towards sin. He delivers a message of judgment that, in that judgment, will inevitably happen unless, or if, the sinful behavior continues. But he's absolutely certain in his sin. But he does look at the response whenever he gives a warning. And God saw that they turned. And God relented from the disaster that he had said that he would bring upon them. And he did not do it, it says. And so today we worship and we thank God that it has gracious mercy. And we're so very thankful that despite our inevitable judgment that if we turn, we can be assured that he will respond with compassion and mercy. The book of Jonah concludes with a message from Jonah, with a question for Jonah. And it really is a question for all messengers of this truth. So let's read this final question that this four chapters here concludes with. This is Jonah chapter 4 in verse 11.

Jonah was still struggling here with this identity as being a messenger. So God ends with this question here. And should I not pity Nineveh, the great city, in which are more than 120,000 persons who cannot discern their right hand and their left and have much livestock?

God says, remember, Jonah, you go out with a message to Nineveh and remember to all my future messengers as you go out to the world that you didn't deserve my mercy just as much as they don't. Remember that. That's the perspective. That's how we go forth as a messenger.

But he says, just as you turned and received my grace, God says to his messengers, just as you did, what if they?

Again, is that burning in you a deep desire for all for all those you come in contact with to receive this message of truth?

And you may ask and say, well, I don't know how to do this. I don't come in contact with a lot of people. It just doesn't seem conducive right now to my way of life. How can I be a messenger of God? Well, I don't know. Have you asked? Have you asked him?

We were visiting a member in the Dallas congregation, and she is in a rehab facility just a few weeks ago. And she is just trying to get back on her feet. She's desperately trying to get home once again. And we spoke a little bit about her condition, but very quickly she began to tell us about her therapist. One of her therapists that she had a conversation with. And she began to talk to this therapist about God the Father and Jesus Christ and this hope that's within her. And she said before she knew it, the therapist pulled out her phone and began to pull up ucg.org and began to go through the fundamental beliefs with her. And she was looking forward again to seeing that therapist in the days to come.

You know, is she just a woman that's merely trying to get back on her feet in a rehab center? No. She's a messenger. Always a messenger. And she's having problems with one of her feet where she's not able to stand.

But how beautiful her feet are and how beautiful are the feet of those who bring the Gospel of Peace and good tidings of good things.

If we pray this prayer of Jonas, if we let God know that we fully understand that the deep was surrounding us and we fully recognize that those weeds were wrapped around our heads. And we realize that he saved us. He brought us protection. He sent us that fish.

And if we pray to him that that same love and grace that saved us, that we want to be messengers of it, and pray that we have a desire, if you don't have a desire, that's okay. You can pray for a desire. After all, it's why you were protected. You pray.

God will answer that prayer, and he will bring you opportunities to share this message. He will absolutely answer that prayer. But we have to show him first that we desire to be a messenger. Maybe the reason this book ends in a question that is unanswered is for us to not ask, well, how did Jonah respond? It's for us to ask, how will we? Once you were tossed to and fro without answers, but God gave you his mercy, he gave you this message, and he wants you to go forth with that same message to preach the good news, to preach a message, that same message that saved you to them.

The world desperately needs it. They absolutely need it, more than anything. Because how shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?

How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring good tidings of good things. We can't be silenced in this desperate world that's looking for answers. We can't find ourselves below in the deck, totally asleep to the cries up above.

So let's think about and let's pray about embracing this identity. Embrace it and become a messenger.