New Life Church of the Nazarene
November 10, 2024
  • Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

      • 1 Kings 17:8–16NASB95

  • Seek Ye First

      • Hebrews 9:24–28NASB95

  • Jonah 3:1–10 CEB
    1 The Lord’s word came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and declare against it the proclamation that I am commanding you.” 3 And Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s word. (Now Nineveh was indeed an enormous city, a three days’ walk across.) 4 Jonah started into the city, walking one day, and he cried out, “Just forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and put on mourning clothes, from the greatest of them to the least significant. 6 When word of it reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, stripped himself of his robe, covered himself with mourning clothes, and sat in ashes. 7 Then he announced, “In Nineveh, by decree of the king and his officials: Neither human nor animal, cattle nor flock, will taste anything! No grazing and no drinking water! 8 Let humans and animals alike put on mourning clothes, and let them call upon God forcefully! And let all persons stop their evil behavior and the violence that’s under their control!” 9 He thought, Who knows? God may see this and turn from his wrath, so that we might not perish. 10 God saw what they were doing—that they had ceased their evil behavior. So God stopped planning to destroy them, and he didn’t do it.

    Praying for our Communities

    Imagine a city known for its wealth and power but also for its corruption, violence, and complete disregard for God—a place so steeped in wrongdoing that most people might think it’s beyond hope. That was Nineveh. The city was huge, the Bible says it was a 3 day walk to get through the city, it was about 60 miles across. When God sent Jonah to this city, He didn’t just send a prophet with a message; He sent an opportunity for change. But Jonah didn’t want to go. Maybe he thought Nineveh was too far gone or didn’t deserve God’s mercy. Maybe he feared they wouldn’t listen. Whatever the reason, Jonah initially ran in the opposite direction.
    But God pursued both Nineveh and Jonah. Finally, Jonah obeyed and delivered God’s message: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown!” And then, something incredible happened. The people of Nineveh, from the king down to the common folk, responded. They turned to God with sincerity, fasting and praying for His mercy. They laid down their pride and turned their hearts to Him. Against all odds, an entire city was transformed because of one reluctant prophet’s obedience and God’s desire to save.
    Just as God had a heart for Nineveh, He has a heart for our own communities. He sees the struggles in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools—the divisions, the hurts, and the need for hope and healing. God’s desire for transformation wasn’t limited to Nineveh; it’s His heart for every place. And just as Nineveh responded to Jonah’s obedience, God is inviting us to pray for our own communities with that same hope. He wants to work through us, through our prayers and our actions, to bring revival and change in places we might think are too far gone.
    We may feel hesitant, as Jonah did. We may wonder if our small acts of faith can make any difference in such a big world. But Nineveh’s story reminds us that no community is beyond God’s reach. He calls us to pray with expectation, to act with love, and to carry a heart of compassion for the people around us. And He invites us to believe that He can still bring transformation.
    The revival of Nineveh shows us that God is always willing to bring transformation when His people are willing to respond. But transformation starts in our own hearts. It starts with a willingness to listen, to obey, and to trust that God can move powerfully in our communities. This leads us to our first point: God’s deep love for our communities and His desire to bring transformation through our prayers and actions.
    Jonah 3:2 (CEB)
    2 “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and declare against it the proclamation that I am commanding you.”

    God's Heart for Communities

    When God sent Jonah to Nineveh, he wasn't just sending him on a mission. Nineveh was a huge, powerful city known for violence, corruption, and idolatry. And many would have said, "Why do it?". It's hopeless." God didn't. Despite everything that was wrong with Nineveh, God was compassionate. He wanted to give them a chance, an opportunity for transformation, for a new beginning.
    And this tells us something remarkable about God's heart: He doesn't look at the worst aspects of a community or its citizens and conclude they're hopeless. Instead, He sees their potential. And however broken and lost, God's desire is always to redeem, renew, and restore. He doesn't just see the problems but the opportunity. And He doesn't want to judge but to redeem.
    This is all beautifully revealed to us by Jesus' life. The Gospels constantly see Him reach out to people that everyone else had turned away from– the renegades, the lepers, the "sinners." Jesus always showed up in the places society had discarded. Consider the example of Zacchaeus, a tax collector hated by his people. Jesus didn't simply see Zacchaeus in the tree as a greedy fellow. He saw in him the potential for transformation. As Jesus put it in Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." It was a rescue mission, not a rejection mission.
    And Jesus didn't just see people the way they were; He saw them the way they might be. He made fishermen fishers of men, a fanatic could be a follower, and a woman who had fallen in sin was told to go away and never sin again. These are all revelations of God's will. He doesn't just see our history or our brokenness but also sees that the Holy Spirit can transform us.
    Likewise, God sees our communities today and what's possible. He knows where healing is possible, where relationships can be rebuilt, where hope can be found. We need to pray for and speak life into the broken areas of our communities, schools, and workplaces, just as Jesus spoke life into people's brokenness. God doesn't just want to forgive; he wants to bring new life to whole communities, bringing light where there is darkness, love where there is division, and hope where there is no hope.
    If we look at our communities through God's eyes, then we will see like Jesus. We're reminded that no place or person is beyond the reach of his mercy. And all he wants is to repair, restore where something's broken, and remake everything.
    Think of a neighborhood or city that's faced poverty, high crime, or disunity—places where people may have stopped hoping things could ever get better. But sometimes, even in the darkest places, transformation happens. Change can occur even in the darkest of places. A few start to see it differently, pray, and struggle for change. They put in the time, love, and work. And slowly, things begin to change.
    Today, God is asking us to look at our communities, churches, workplaces, and cities like He does. And just as He looked on Nineveh and longed for it to change, so He looks at our communities with compassion and hope. We may look around and only see the problems—brokenness, discord, and need. And yet God sees so much more. He sees potential. He sees people who need love. He sees opportunities for healing, for peace, for transformation.
    And yet God does not want us to merely see that need, He wants us to step into it. He is, just like Jonah, calling us to pray for and work toward positive change where we are. God doesn't want us to forget about the problems in the world. Instead, He's asking us to embrace them with His hope and love. And that always begins with prayer — lifting up the people and places around us. Imagine if we began to pray regularly for our neighbors, for our elected officials, for our schools, and for the people who feel forgotten. Jesus showed us the power of prayer and taught us to ask for God's will to be done right here on earth, as it is in heaven.
    But, on occasion, we have to get our hands dirty, too. It doesn't have to be something huge or convoluted. You could do something as small as calling someone in need who's having a bad day, giving a few hours of your time, or helping a family in need this holiday season. It could be listening to someone who needs to talk or doing small things to show kindness. Even the small things are transformative. Jesus said that God cares even if we give a cup of water. These small acts can seem simple, but they can become the seeds of a beautiful thing for God.
    And we're invited to reach out to others who may feel left behind, to seek ways to shine a little light where needed. We are Jesus' "light of the world" to bring His love into the dark places. That could be as simple as being a peacemaker at work or reaching out to someone in our neighborhood who feels alone.
    God's vision for our communities is transformative, long-lasting change, and He's asking us all to be a part of it. What if we all took this seriously? What would it look like? A community where everyone really cares about one another, a school where the kids are safe and respected, or a job where everyone is honest and caring. This isn't just a nice idea—God can make it real through our prayers and actions.
    So, let's open ourselves up to what God might want to do right here, where we live. Let's pray with hope, serve with love, and take small steps with big faith, trusting that God can work through each of us to bring His healing and hope to our communities.
    The story of Nineveh shows us that God's promise of change isn't an abstract notion. It is real when we submit and ask. And Jonah's story demonstrates how, despite feeling lost or insecure, God can work powerfully through us if we're willing to act. If Jonah's message changed Nineveh, our obedience can bring change in our own communities. And this brings us to our next point: Obedience as a Pathway to Revival
    Jonah 3:3 CEB
    3 And Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s word. (Now Nineveh was indeed an enormous city, a three days’ walk across.)

    Obedience as the Pathway to Revival

    Jonah didn't head out to Nineveh confident or excited. He was reluctant to leave, likely with much to be skeptical about. And despite being less than completely sold on the idea, he still obeyed. And that very act of obedience – despite his anxieties and reservations – opened the door to an extraordinary transformation. God's calling on us is sometimes the same. Obedience isn't always prepared or at 100%; obedience is believing that God can move, even when we aren't.
    Think of a hesitant volunteer with second thoughts but still goes out to volunteer on a local project or help someone. And although they might not feel they have done much, the fact that they've said "yes" is the start of something. God often works this way. He takes our small and sometimes reluctant steps of trust and multiplies them like we could never have dreamed.
    With Jonah, his obedience, doubtful and grudging as it was, became the key to a miracle. Don't get me wrong, Jonah wasn't initially eager to obey God. He actually ran the other way! He got on a boat sailing in the opposite direction from Nineveh to get away from the work God had given him. After the storm at sea, being thrown overboard, and three days stuck inside a monster fish later, Jonah finally surrenders. And even then, he was still not entirely in it.
    Jonah arrived at Nineveh and uttered God's message in the plainest, and possibly most boring, voice: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed!" (Jonah 3:4). No sermon, no sermonizing speech—just a blunt warning. But here is where the wonder begins. Despite Jonah's reluctance and minimal effort, the people of Nineveh responded in a way no one expected. From the richest to the poorest, they took God at his word. They fasted, clothed themselves with sackcloth, and repented of their wickedness. Even the king humbled himself, taking up sackcloth and declaring that everyone should confess.
    A whole city turned to God because of one man's imperfect obedience. It tells us something important: God is able to do things through us even when we're not ready, geared up, or motivated. Not because we can, but because we're available. God doesn't require us to have all the answers or to feel completely confident. He only challenges us to make that leap of faith, no matter how small or reluctant it may be.
    Look at how empowering that is. We do not express it because we feel unworthy. We say, "I'm not a pastor," or "I don't have the words," or "What can I possibly do? But Jonah's experience shows us that obeying can open the door for God to do extraordinary things. Our little acts of obedience are the seeds of miracles.
    What if Jonah had still run away? Nineveh might not have had that revival. But a whole city was changed when Jonah finally listened, even if it was only half-heartedly. It shows us that our obedience is not bound to how we feel or how inadequate we might feel. God's power makes the difference, and He can use our obedience—no matter how imperfect—to bring about change.
    When God asks you to go and visit a neighbor, volunteer for a local cause, or pray for your city, remember that you don't have it all together. It can be scary for you, but that's fine. God is not seeking perfection; God is seeking a surrendered heart. All he wants is that we go, and He'll take care of the rest.
    We see this in the New Testament as well. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul says that God's answer to his own weak spot is this: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Our weaknesses or doubts are not an obstacle, and they don't disqualify us; they offer a space for God's power to show off.
    But let's be encouraged by Jonah's story. If God can get a disobedient prophet to bring about a city-wide revival, then think what He can do through us when we are ready to walk out in faith. Even your most modest step of faith may become the key to your community's transformation. Believe that God can do something through you, and open your heart to how amazing God can use your sacrifice to change things.
    What does this all look like for us? That could mean praying for a person on your block, asking a neighbor, or even volunteering in some small way. Obedience does not need to be flashy; it only needs to be sincere. God can take these humble actions and make them count for something radically greater. When we say "yes," even a tentative "yes," it opens the door for God to work through us.
    Jonah's obedience touched the hearts of those who lived in Nineveh, and its inhabitants arose to repentance when he spoke God's word to them. And that brings us to the second critical ingredient in our quest for revival in our local communities: pray for our neighbors. So, let's pray that God will warm their hearts and bring them to Him so that change may occur in their lives.
    Jonah 3:5 CEB
    5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and put on mourning clothes, from the greatest of them to the least significant.

    Praying for our Communities

    When Jonah finally spoke God's word into Nineveh, something amazing happened. The whole city — from the King to the peasants — believed God's word and confessed. They didn't just listen; they responded with their hearts. They prayed, fasted, put on sackcloth, and prayed for forgiveness. And because they went to God in faith and humbleness, God delivered them from judgment. This dramatic response helps us to see what happens when a community seeks God together.
    Nineveh was an example of the power of collective prayer and repentance. Think about it: a city full of people from the king to the ordinary person addressing God humbly, confessing their sins, and asking for mercy. That collective heart-turning moved God, and he did not destroy them. Nineveh's story teaches us what can be accomplished when communities seek God together is extraordinary. Hearts are softened, relationships healed, and the light of God can shine in the darkest places.
    As we pray for communities, workplaces, schools, leaders, and the rest of society, God's mercy, grace, and healing enter every single sector of society. We don't intercede for ourselves; we intercede for others. It's to ask God to heal where there's hurt, peace where there's violence and hope where there's darkness.
    Think of a barren desert split open and thirsty for rain. Once the rain finally arrives, it doesn't water just one patch; it falls and falls, filling every gap and every hole and rejuvenating everything. Similarly, when we gather together in prayer, it's like we ask for a river of grace to run through our communities, bringing life and healing to every place it touches.
    As rain refreshes a desolate landscape, our prayers can bring a sense of hope, empathy, and renewal to our neighborhoods. One individual prayer might influence one, but praying in a group has a more significant impact. It's like rain falling all over the place instead of one spot. With each prayer and voice in concert, God's power reaches further and further to places we would never otherwise imagine.
    Intercession is about standing up for the people and places we care about, even if they don't realize they need it. And when we pray for our communities, we're calling on God to intervene when there's hurt, division, and disunity. We're begging Him to unite, heal, and give hope to people who might not even know He loves them.
    Let's pray for our leaders to be wise and compassionate. Let's pray that our schools will be a place of safety, growth, and encouragement. Let's pray that our workplaces are spaces of dignity, transparency, and generosity. And let's pray for the poor, the oppressed, and the helpless, believing God will touch them through prayer.
    When we pray for our communities, we reach out to everyone and everywhere, asking God for His light, healing, and comfort. It's having the heart to say, "God, let Your love and grace run like a river here." And what's wonderful about it is that God does hear us, just as in Nineveh. When we gather and pray that God's love will be seen in every facet of our societies, we're laying out a place for God's love to do the supernatural.

    Praying for our Communities

    The Nineveh story teaches us that no town, neighborhood, or person was too far gone for the love of God to penetrate. Nineveh was a violent, impure city, but God saw potential. By the people's collective receptiveness and Jonah's grudging submission, He provided real hope and redemption. It is not only an old story. It is a lesson to remind us that God's love can be used to make things possible in the places and for the people we think might be impossible.
    If God could reshape the heart of a whole city, he can transform our towns, our neighborhoods, and even our workplaces. The problems surrounding us — relationships gone wrong, loneliness, struggle, suffering — aren't insurmountable for Him. God sees potential where we see obstacles. He sees places and people needing His light, compassion, and hope.
    The only thing we can do is bring our willingness, our prayer, our trust. And God can work in us even when we are weak or unsure, like Jonah did. When we come to follow Jesus, even in a small way, and when we're willing to pray for our communities with our hearts genuinely open, we're setting the stage for God to enter and do something more than we could ever imagine or think.
    What if we would do this for our own neighborhoods and workplaces, like Nineveh? With a prayerful heart, a hope for people to be restored and healed, and a belief that things can change? How would our schools, streets, and communities be changed if we believed God could revive them?
    So, let's keep in mind that God loves each and every single person. There's no community too broken, no individual too lost, no dark enough for God's grace to shine. He's calling us to join Him in this work of redemptive reclaiming, one prayer and one act of faith at a time. He moved in Nineveh, and He can move here, among us, if we say "yes" and believe He can and will.
    Let's step up with hearts of openness and the deepest commitment to pray for our communities. And that's not just a temporary reaction: it's an invitation to literally do something with prayer and faith. Let's begin with big prayers, trusting that God wants to see our communities, our towns, and even our leaders transformed. What if we brought our communities to God daily and placed our hopes and requests in confidence and trust before Him?
    Let's commit to doing this regularly, whether for a few minutes daily or in a group prayer meeting. We may have small prayers, but God can use them to plant new life. Let's all be convinced that His love can touch every part of our communities.
    ​

      • Jonah 3:1–10NASB95

      • Jonah 3:3NASB95

      • Jonah 3:5NASB95

  • Take My Life, and Let it Be
New Life Church of the Nazarene
boswellnazarene@gmail.com
814-703-0572
http://www.newlifenaz.org/
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