Jonah 1:1-121 Now the word of the LORD came to

Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has

come up before Me.”

Jonah 1:1-123 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down

to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went

down into it, to go with them to Tarshishfrom the presence of the LORD.

Jonah 1:1-124 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.

Jonah 1:1-125 Then the mariners were afraid; and every

man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten

the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and

was fast asleep.

Jonah 1:1-126 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”

Jonah 1:1-127 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for

whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on

Jonah.

Jonah 1:1-128 Then they said to him, “Please tell us!

For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country?

And of what people are you?”

Jonah 1:1-129 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew;

and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Jonah 1:1-1210 Then the men were exceedingly afraid,

and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled

from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

Jonah 1:1-1211 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for

us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.

Jonah 1:1-1212 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will

become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”

One Man’s Opportunity

One Man’s OpportunityGod’s call has always been man’s opportunity!

• Noah• Abraham• Moses

• Joshua• David• Paul

One Man’s Opportunity To understand the compassion of God

Exodus 34:6,76 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God,

merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,

Exodus 34:6,77 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no

means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third

and the fourth generation.”

2Peter 3:9The Lord is not slack concerning His

promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that

any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Jonah 4:2So he prayed to the LORD, and said, “Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my

country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful

God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing

harm.

One Man’s Opportunity To understand the compassion of God To turn a whole heathen city to God

Jonah 3:5-105 So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.

Jonah 3:5-106 Then word came to the king of Nineveh;

and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth

and sat in ashes.

Jonah 3:5-107 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the

decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock,

taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water.

Jonah 3:5-108 But let man and beast be covered with

sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?

Jonah 3:5-1010 Then God saw their works, that they

turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had

said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

James 5:19,2019 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders

from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a

sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of

sins.

Proverbs 11:30

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

Daniel 12:3Those who are wise shall shine

Like the brightness of the firmament,And those who turn many to

righteousnessLike the stars forever and ever.

One Man’s Opportunity To understand the compassion of God To turn a whole heathen city to God To prove what God can do with one

unworthy person

1Timothy 1:12-1612 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who

has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,

1Timothy 1:12-1613 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I

obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

1Timothy 1:12-1614 And the grace of our Lord was

exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

1Timothy 1:12-1615 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came

into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

1Timothy 1:12-1616 However, for this reason I obtained

mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him

for everlasting life.

One Man’s Opportunity To understand the compassion of God To turn a whole heathen city to God To prove what God can do with one

unworthy person