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Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000098S
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00:05 #S051-When God's Goodness Becomes A Problem (Part 1)
00:19 Do me a favor, stay to your feet 00:21 as we go into the scriptures this afternoon. 00:23 And we're going to be brief today 00:25 as we prepare to transition to the table shortly. 00:29 I want to invite you to go back with me in your Bibles 00:30 to the Book of Jonah, chapter three. 00:34 Now, some of you are here a couple of weeks ago 00:36 where we studied the book of Jonah. 00:37 Anybody remember that where we talked 00:39 under the subject, you're going the wrong way. 00:43 And there are some things that we learned 00:44 from the word just two Sabbaths ago. 00:45 One of the things that we learned from Jonah 00:47 is that agreement is not a prerequisite for obedience. 00:51 Come on and say amen. 00:53 And then we learn that sometimes when we go through storms, 00:56 that storms are not for 00:57 our destruction, storms are actually for our direction. 01:02 And then we learn from the Word of God 01:04 when they refuse that, at first they throw Jonah from the ship. 01:09 Don't let somebody else's drummer cause you to sink a man. 01:13 And so today, I want us to go back for 01:16 just a little longer to the book of Jonah. 01:19 This Communion Sabbath. 01:20 Because in many ways, it embodies the grace of God. 01:25 In a way that I had not previously considered. 01:27 Jonah. Chapter three. 01:29 And we're going to read a good bit, 01:30 but we'll be skipping back and forth, so be prepared to adjust. 01:34 Jonah, Chapter three 01:34 When you get there, let me hear you say man. 01:37 Jonah Chapter three. 01:40 The Bible says now the word of the Lord 01:43 came to Jonah the second time 01:47 saying, Arise and go to Nineveh, that great city, 01:50 and preach to it the message that I tell you. 01:54 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according 01:57 to the Word of the Lord. 01:59 Now, Nimba was an exceedingly great city, 02:02 a three day journey in extent. 02:05 And Jonah began to enter the city 02:07 on the first day's walk. 02:09 Then he cried out and said, Yet 40 days 02:13 and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 02:16 So the people of Nineveh did what 02:19 they believe. 02:20 God proclaimed the fast and put on sackcloth 02:23 from the greatest to the least of them. 02:26 Then the word came to the King of Nineveh, 02:29 and he arose from his throne and later side his robe 02:31 and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 02:36 And he calls it to be proclaimed 02:37 and published throughout Nineveh by decree of the king 02:40 and his nobles, saying, Let neither man or beast hurt 02:44 nor flock, taste anything and do not let them drink water. 02:49 And verse ten says this Then God saw their works 02:54 that they turned from their evil ways. 02:58 Somebody should say Amen to that. 02:59 And God relented from the disaster that he said 03:05 he would bring upon them, and he did not do it. 03:10 Then Chapter four says, But it 03:14 displeased Jonah exceedingly. 03:19 And he became angry. 03:22 I mean, they repented, said, I want to be baptized 03:27 and the preacher gets mad about this. 03:31 So he prayed to the Lord 03:33 and said, Our Lord was not this what I said 03:38 when I was still in my own country. 03:41 Therefore, I fled previously to Tarsus for I know that. 03:45 Listen to what he says. 03:48 Listen to his complaint. 03:49 CHURCH He says, Well, I know that you are gracious 03:55 and merciful, God, slow to anger 03:59 and abundant in loving kindness. 04:01 One who relents from doing harm. 04:05 Therefore, now, oh Lord, please take my life from me, 04:10 for it is better for me to die 04:14 than to live today saints for just a little while. 04:18 I want to talk under the subject when God's goodness 04:21 becomes a problem. 04:24 Let's pray together quickly. 04:27 Father, in this little while, would you please say much? 04:31 And Father, your love is greater than what 04:34 human verbiage can disclose, discuss or declare. 04:39 So, Lord, through the Holy Spirit, Lord, 04:42 would you allow just for us to get a glimpse of your love? 04:48 May it settle upon our hearts. 04:52 And, Lord, I pray that we would not just see Jonah's ruin. 04:55 But let us see our own. 04:57 And class, to your grace. 05:00 As if for our last breath. 05:03 Hide me in the shadows of the cross. 05:05 That Jesus alone might be seen. 05:07 That Christ alone would be heard. 05:10 And indeed of our time together. 05:11 May Jesus alone be praised. 05:13 We ask this in the name of him, who is altogether lovely. 05:16 It is in the name of Jesus that we pray. 05:18 Let those who believe say together. 05:20 Amen. And a man. 05:22 You may be seated in the House of the Lord again, talking 05:25 today on the subject when God's goodness is a problem. 05:32 You know, friends, there are 05:34 occasions in my home where my kids do some things 05:38 that they are not supposed to do, and in frustration, 05:44 I will threaten punishments of all sorts. 05:47 So at times I will promise early bedtime 05:50 or I'll withhold device. 05:54 And there is this escalating scale of justice, 05:57 depending on what the offense may be. 06:01 But there are times where, because of life's busyness 06:04 or fatigue that I may forget or 06:09 I may choose to change my mind about applying the punishment. 06:13 And this, at times, 06:14 has worked in favor of all of the kids at times. 06:19 However, when one child receives grace, 06:22 the other two will point out and remind me to say, Daddy, 06:26 you said they would get early bedtime. 06:30 They would say, Daddy, you said their devices are going 06:32 to be withhold in an attempt to out one another. 06:37 They will remind me 06:38 of the offense and the dedicated punishment. 06:42 And when they see that I'm not responding 06:44 or that I've changed my mind, they get an attitude with me. 06:50 And it's interesting because the irony is that 06:52 when their trespass was overlooked, it wasn't a problem. 06:57 When their offense was forgiven, it was okay 07:01 when their misbehavior was shown. 07:03 Grace They thought I was a good dad. 07:06 But when I show grace 07:07 to one of their siblings, my character gets indicted. 07:11 And there was a certain absurdity in this dialog 07:15 because there are times where I have to remind them, 07:17 when you did X and how you got away with it. 07:23 And the message ultimately, friends, 07:25 is not that you're going 07:26 to get away with doing bad, but when your friend gets grace, 07:30 you ought to celebrate it because it means at least 07:33 that Grace might still be available to you. 07:38 And friends, there is a danger in developing 07:41 amnesia about how much grace we've received, 07:46 because the truth is that we become at the kids 07:49 for the law when we forget where God has found us. 07:54 And at times we have the temerity 07:58 to only celebrate the grace that God applied yesterday, 08:03 as if we're still not living by grace on today. 08:07 In fact, there are some of us that treat grace like welfare 08:10 that helped us get back on our feet, 08:14 and now we're sustained by our own merit and power. 08:18 But do I have a witness that not only were we saved 08:20 by Grace back in the day, I'm still saved by Grace even today. 08:26 Are y'all hearing me today, friends? 08:28 And it's crazy because this is the offense of the cross, 08:33 because we like to apply grace selectively. 08:37 We believe those that we like deserve grace, 08:40 that those that we're close to deserve grace. 08:44 But we kind of get upset when God shows grace to those 08:47 that we don't like or that those that have done us harm. 08:52 And see what happens is when God shows grace to those 08:55 we don't like. 08:56 We try to put all types of stipulations around grace. 09:01 We try to put parameters around grace. 09:04 We begin to put certain conditions around grace 09:08 because we feel certain people don't deserve it. 09:11 But how many of us realize that grace, by definition, 09:16 is God's unmerited and unwarranted favor 09:21 so that it's not grace if it's given to the deserving? 09:25 It's not grace if it's given to those who warranted. 09:29 How many of us know that grace can only be 09:31 given to those that don't deserve it? 09:35 And see, I'm at a place church where I'm 09:37 not trying to count out God's mercies to you. 09:42 I'm just so thankful that God has given grace to me 09:46 that I'm celebrating whenever God shows grace to my brothers. 09:51 Is there anybody thankful today that God does not treat us 09:54 as we deserve? 09:56 But according to the multitude of His tender mercies, 10:00 does he deal with all of his children? 10:02 Can you say amen? 10:04 So. So go back with me, if you don't mind to 10:06 Jonah, chapter three and verse number one. 10:10 The Bible says Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah. 10:14 The Bible says a second time. 10:17 Now again, there's just three brief 10:20 grace motifs that I want to espouse today. 10:24 And the first thing Jonah story teaches us is, number one, 10:27 you ought not ever squander your second chance. 10:33 Notice what the word says. 10:34 The word says that the word of the Lord 10:38 came to Jonah a second time. 10:41 Okay, somebody on mischief shout. 10:43 It says the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. 10:48 Y'all still they are still not getting that. 10:50 The word says 10:51 that the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. 10:56 And see, the reason the word has to come a second 10:59 time is because Jonah rejected it the first time. 11:05 And see, when the word comes to Jonah a second time, 11:09 it is proof that God is not just showing mercy to nearby, 11:13 that God is showing mercy on to Jonah. 11:16 In other words, I need you to know 11:18 that when the word comes a second 11:20 time is proof that he hasn't given up on Jonah. 11:24 It's proof he has not replaced Jonah. 11:27 It's evidence that he's still fooling with 11:29 a rebellious prophet called Jonah. 11:33 And it's amazing because in chapter three, 11:37 we see Jonah making the most of his second chance. 11:41 He does not presume that there will be a third 11:43 or fourth or a fifth chance. 11:46 He is all the way in with his second chance. 11:49 Now, when you get home, 11:50 you've got to read Jonah's prayer and chapter two. 11:54 When he is in the belly of the fish 11:57 and verse one, he says, I cried out unto the Lord 12:00 and the Lord heard me in my affliction. 12:03 He says, The waves pass over me 12:06 that the waters were about to overtake me. 12:09 He says The seaweed was around my head 12:12 and yet I made it up in my mind 12:16 that I will look toward his temple. 12:19 In other words, friends, Jonah prays a crisis prayer. 12:22 I don't know about you, Church, 12:23 but have you ever found yourself praying in a crisis 12:27 where, like Jonah, you can feel yourself 12:30 going under, where you can feel light closing 12:34 and where you can feel are you about to get married? 12:38 The reward of your evil deeds and you pray to prayer that 12:41 when something like this, Lord, if you get me out of this one, 12:48 Lord, if you 12:49 see me through one more time, Lord, if you hang with me 12:53 here, I'll serve you better if you give me another chance 13:00 and see the word for somebody today is that don't abandon 13:03 the covenant you made in trouble when God removes your trouble. 13:08 Let me say it again. 13:09 Don't abandon the covenant 13:10 you made in trouble whenever God removes the trouble. 13:15 In other words, church 13:16 don't act brand new when you get back on your feet. 13:20 Don't forget what you prayed when your child 13:23 was still in the world. 13:25 Don't forget 13:26 how you said you would treat her if she came back home. 13:30 Don't forget what you said you would do 13:32 when you were sitting there in the hospital. 13:34 Don't go back the old way 13:36 because the pregnancy test came back negative. In 13:39 other words, church, sometimes God has to renew the trouble. 13:45 So you renew your covenant. 13:46 Oh, the Almighty quiet. 13:48 Sometimes He's got to let the trouble return 13:52 so that your righteousness will return. 13:55 And it's funny, Church, because in this moment, 13:59 your boy, Jonah, is so grateful for a second chance 14:03 that his gratitude shows up as fuel for his obedience 14:08 at this place. 14:09 He is so thankful that he'll go wherever God says go. 14:13 He'll do whatever God says do, and he'll say whatever 14:16 God puts in His Spirit. 14:18 And the reason He'll do it is because his gratitude is fresh. 14:24 AC One of the things I've come to believe, friends, 14:28 is that when your gratitude is fresh, 14:31 guess what your obedience is great. 14:34 But when you let your gratitude become stale, guess what? 14:37 Your obedience gets stale as well. 14:41 In fact, when you reach happiness 14:42 three and four, you literally see a progression at work 14:47 that as long as he is grateful, he does good and obeys. 14:51 But when his gratitude food wears off 14:54 and he walks in his self worthiness, 14:56 then his obedience begins to get stale. 15:00 And that's why, friends, I don't believe that we have to 15:02 always look at our sinful past, but we need some mechanisms 15:06 in place to keep us mindful of where 15:10 God brought us from. 15:13 You'll hear me today, France. 15:15 And so the word comes to Jonah a second time. 15:19 And to his credit, at least initially, 15:22 he goes all the way in with his second chance. 15:26 He does not presume a third chance. 15:27 He does not presume a fourth chance. 15:30 He does not squander the additional mercy 15:33 that God extends to his life. 15:34 But the thing I want to pass to say, beloved, 15:38 is that the greatest regrets in life should not be the mistakes 15:41 that we make. 15:42 It ought to actually be the second chances we squander. 15:48 In other words, I need somebody to understand 15:50 that God has built grace into your life. 15:54 He has literally built it into the margins of your journey, 15:57 because God 15:58 knows that our knows our frame, and he remembers that we are. 16:03 But does he knows that you're going to mess up along the way? 16:06 But that's not really the issue. 16:08 The problem is not my mistake. 16:11 The problem is how I handle my second chance. 16:15 I see the proof of the truth is today 16:17 is that some of us have been given multiple chances 16:21 to amend our habits so that we can preserve our health. 16:26 Some of us have been given a second chance 16:29 to better our home and win the hearts of our spouses. 16:33 Some of us have gotten a second chance 16:36 to get back into school and fulfill your purpose. 16:39 Some of us have gotten 16:40 a second chance in grace to turn away from wickedness. 16:45 But the question is, are you going 16:46 abuse your second chance? 16:49 I see friends of mine. 16:50 I need you to know I'm old enough 16:52 and just walking with God 16:53 long enough to know that God is not so exacting the way 16:57 he only gives you one chance and if you mess up, he moves on. 17:03 But God is going to build elasticity into your journey 17:07 so that you have room 17:08 to turn from the errors that you have made 17:12 so that all of us are going to get at least 1/2 chance. 17:17 In fact, let me pause and amend myself. 17:19 Sermon. 17:21 It's actually a sin to call him the God of a second chance. 17:26 Because how many of us know that we use our second chance 17:31 a long time ago? 17:33 He's not the God of a second chance. 17:37 He's the God of another chance. 17:40 He's the God who is abundant in mercy. 17:43 Is there anybody less thankful that you had more chances then? 17:47 You can't count on both hands. 17:50 But God does not deal with us as we deserve. 17:54 But He deals with us. His grace. 17:55 In other words, I need somebody to know 17:58 that every day you wake up 18:02 is another chance 18:05 to get a covenant with God. 18:07 I've been living 16,933 days 18:13 and that 16,000 chances that God has given me 18:18 to walk in relationship with him. 18:21 And that's why the Bible says to number your day 18:24 is that you might apply your heart to wisdom. 18:29 And see, the thing I want to say, friends of mine, 18:32 is that the foods that you are thankful for and second chance 18:36 is not your shout. 18:39 The proof, your 18:40 grateful is your obedience. 18:43 See the way you say. 18:44 Thank you for 18:45 mercy is not with your mouth or outstretched hands. 18:49 It is with a life that is in harmony with God. 18:53 Let me say it this way. 18:54 I remember when I first had graduated from school, 18:57 I had a little credit card my parents gave me and I. 19:00 I didn't always do right by that credit card. 19:01 Don't have at least one witness out there today. 19:04 And so I remember before I went to grad school, 19:06 I was trying to get a new car because my old ones was just 19:10 reached the end of its life cycle. 19:11 And see, the problem was my credit 19:14 was not strong enough to be able to get approved for a new car. 19:19 And so what my parents did was they decided to cosign 19:24 for me to get a new car. 19:26 And I needed to know that I was approved 19:31 not because of my credit, 19:34 but on the strength of somebody else's credit. 19:38 Now, I need you to know that I made every payment on time, 19:42 not because I was trying to be approved, 19:44 but because I was so thankful 19:47 that they put their name on the line 19:50 that my gratitude showed up in a perfect performance. 19:54 Y'all, Mr. South. 19:55 I didn't do it to get approved. 19:58 I had already been approved. 20:00 I was just so thankful for what they did. 20:04 I had to validate their trust in me and see how many of us know 20:07 that salvation is a divine cosign. 20:12 You can't get approved on your merits. 20:16 You get approved on the strength of his credit. 20:19 But the reason I live right is not to get saved. 20:23 I'm already saying 20:25 I'm on Jesus credit, but I live right 20:30 because I'm so thankful that he cosign my foolish debt. 20:34 Oh God. 20:37 Then I walk up rightly 20:40 to validate his trust in me. 20:43 I hear in the word today. 20:47 Second thing, the story Jonah teaches us quickly is that 20:49 you can't tell who's going to repent by 20:52 looking at them 21:01 friends. 21:02 The word says that nobody is in such bad shape 21:07 that their wickedness 21:09 comes up before the Lord. 21:13 In other words, their transgressions are so great, 21:17 their iniquities are so gross that God puts a 40 day 21:22 clock on their existence. 21:26 And it's crazy because when God sends Jonah to Nineveh, 21:32 it is not just to bend Jonah's wheel to his wishes, 21:35 but because he knows there are folk infinite power 21:43 that can 21:43 be saved if he gives them another chance. 21:48 Not a crazy thing is saints that you would never know 21:51 that Nybo would repent by looking at them. 21:55 Okay. 21:56 Do you realize that none of those repentance 22:01 comes after the peak of their wickedness? 22:05 Okay, well, what the church said today, like their repentance, 22:09 literally falls on the heels of the peak of their wickedness. 22:14 In other words, Nympho can't go no further. 22:17 Never, but can't get any worse. 22:19 I can't go down any more. 22:21 Morally noble cannot get further from God. 22:26 But how many of us realize that sometimes the dawn comes 22:30 right after the darkness? 22:34 And it's crazy because, well, there's something 22:36 about the sinful nature 22:38 that sometimes you have to reach an exhaustion point, 22:42 that sometimes the sinful nature has to go as far as it can go, 22:47 that sometimes that sinful nature has to bottom out. 22:50 It is an interesting that sometimes 22:51 sometimes you've got to go all the way out 22:55 before you can go all the way in. 22:58 Oh, this is crazy. 22:59 In an interesting that sometimes the best members 23:03 used to be the worst sinners. 23:05 And the reason that's the case 23:07 is because you are fully persuaded in your own mind, 23:12 you know, this world ain't got nothing out there for you. 23:16 You all the way, Ed, because you used to be all the way out. 23:19 But the reason 23:19 some of us are 23:20 not all the way it is because we ain't never 23:23 went all the way out 23:24 and we still think there's 23:26 something out there and our benefit cuts 23:30 and it's crazy because never turns around 23:35 on the heels of its worst spiritual day. 23:38 Why am I saying that? 23:39 I'm saying this on behalf of some praying mother, 23:43 some praying grandmother, some praying auntie, 23:47 who is praying for some child to turn around, some husband 23:49 to turn around, some wife to turn around. 23:53 And you're looking at where they are today. 23:56 And for somebody, it looks like they can't get worse. 23:58 It seems like they'll never turn around. 24:01 It seems like they can never see the light. 24:04 But if you learn anything from none of that, 24:06 sometimes repentance is right there on the heel of wickedness. 24:12 And the word to somebody today is, don't turn up your position, 24:15 your petition, don't see your prayer. 24:19 Because God does a work that you can't see 24:21 with your eyes. 24:26 In other words, when you look at John Chapter three, 24:28 John Jesus compared the work of the Holy Spirit 24:31 to being a nun, to the work of the wind. 24:34 He says, You don't know where it's coming from, 24:36 you don't know where it's going. 24:37 In fact, 24:38 the only reason you know the wind is blowing 24:39 is because the leaves are rustling 24:42 and the limbs of the tree are shaking. 24:44 How many of us know 24:45 that the work of the Spirit is an invisible work? 24:50 So what I want to encourage us to do 24:52 is know you can't judge a book by its cover. 24:57 What do you mean? 24:58 You'll remember that Luke Chapter 11, 24:59 when Jesus preached to the Pharisees, 25:03 he says that none of us 25:06 is going to stand up in judgment of this generation 25:11 because they heard the word and repented it. 25:15 In other words, if you saw the Pharisees 25:18 and they filled factories and priestly garments 25:21 and you saw those wretched folk turning up and none of you 25:24 would assume that these are the ones that would repent, 25:28 but those are the ones 25:29 that heart in themselves against Christ, 25:32 while those in need of us 25:33 are the ones that repented at the Word. 25:36 And what I'm saying 25:37 that somebody today, as you can tell, who's going to repent 25:41 by looking at them. 25:43 Matter of fact, spend less time looking at their appearance. 25:48 Spend more time looking, gets old. 25:50 So stop trying to get the plank out of somebody else's eye 25:56 and get the beam out of your own eye. 25:58 The old sounds headed this way. 26:00 Sweep around your front door 26:04 before you try to sweep around mine. 26:06 Are you all hear what I'm saying today? 26:10 Because I need to know the spirit works beneath 26:12 the surface. 26:14 It works in a way that your eyes can never detect. 26:17 You can never really see 26:18 what it is that the spirit is doing inside of a person. 26:21 It's crazy, man. 26:22 The spirit works even in our worst wickedness. 26:26 Have you ever noticed how when somebody gets drunk, 26:30 they always want to debate religion? 26:34 Oh, y'all quite. Oh, yeah. 26:35 Oh, that ain't never been. You okay at all? 26:37 When somebody gets high, they want to talk about 26:39 the doctrine of the church. 26:41 Have you ever noticed that even when you own the club, 26:44 there is something that don't feel right 26:45 about being a come on and say men today? 26:49 I mean, the real truth is that I only ever get worried 26:51 when somebody is mad at the church, 26:54 because when you're mad, it's because they're still love. 26:57 I don't get scared when they get mad. 26:58 I get scared when they get indifferent toward church. 27:02 And what I'm saying to somebody today is that the spirit does 27:05 this work underneath the surface. 27:09 And that's why sometimes you got to pray 27:12 and plant and let God do the rest. 27:17 Thank you so much for joining us. 27:19 Well, the breath of life 27:20 television ministries broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell. 27:25 We hope and pray 27:26 that you have been blessed by his powerful message. 27:30 Join us next week for part two of the message 27:33 “ When God's Goodness Becomes A Problem” 27:36 You don't want to miss it. 28:07 Breath Of Life Music |
Revised 2023-12-06