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[no audio] [music] He moves in mysterious ways. And then he's blessed to pray without ceasing.

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Don't you ever, don't you ever be dismayed. [MUSIC] ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ It's on the way ♪

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♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ Way ♪ ♪ It's on the way ♪ ♪ Oh that miracle ♪

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♪ Oh yes ♪ ♪ That you've been believing God for ♪ ♪ Is on the way ♪ ♪ It's on the way ♪

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♪ The more you fast ♪ ♪ The more you fast ♪ ♪ The more you pray ♪ ♪ The more you pray ♪

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♪ Brings it closer ♪ ♪ Closer every day ♪ ♪ I'm walking ♪ ♪ Keep walking, walking by faith ♪

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♪ It's on the way ♪ ♪ It's on the way ♪ ♪ Just because ♪ ♪ Must not be ♪

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♪ Must I weep ♪ ♪ It's on the way ♪ ♪ It's on the way ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪

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♪ It's on the way ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ It's on the way ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪

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♪ It's on the way ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ That's all ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪

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♪ Thank you for God ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ God's gonna save you, God ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪

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♪ God's gonna work it out ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ God's gonna deliver your soul ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪

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♪ That healing in you ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ It's on the way ♪

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♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ Listen ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ Somebody wants a regular job ♪

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♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ Somebody wants a better job ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ I said he's gonna make it with me ♪

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♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ And now ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ It's on the way ♪

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♪ Keep on working ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ Keep on working ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪

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♪ It's on the way ♪ ♪ Oh yes, it's on the way ♪ ♪ The more you fast ♪ ♪ The more you fast ♪

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♪ The more you pray ♪ ♪ The more you pray ♪ ♪ Brings it close ♪ ♪ Close now, every day ♪

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♪ Keep on walking ♪ ♪ Keep walking, walking by faith ♪ ♪ It's on the way ♪ on your way. Amen. Amen. KENNETH: And the Word of the

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Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto none of us that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee." Book of the Prophet Jonah, Chapter 3, Verse 1. The subject, "Second Time Around." Word of the Lord came

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to Jonah the second time. The second time means a repeat performance. God said it once, then He said it again. The second time provides room for improvement, correction. Jonah does not do what he might have done the first time, so he's

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given a second time. He receives another chance. The Word of God came to Jonah the second time. There's something special about the second time. First time is not sufficient, seemingly. the desired results were not received. The Word comes the

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second time. It indicates patience on the part of God. It's a special act of grace. Another opportunity is given. "Maybe you hear me the first time. So the Word comes the second time. The second time may denote a sign of anger, wrath, rage. I remember

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hearing a policeman saying to a driver who was ahead of me, "Don't park in that space." And the driver proceeded as if he not been addressed by the policeman, and the policeman spoke to him the second time. "I told you not to park in that

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space, and I'm not going to tell you anymore." Second time. So Jonah needs to be addressed by the divine Word a second time, Not because he's retarded, not because he's hard of hearing, but because he is disobedient. He's a rebel. He's stubborn. He

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knows what he is supposed to do, but he refuses to do it. He where he's supposed to go, but he refuses to go there. God, out of his abundant grace and tender mercy, speaks to Jonah the second time. Jonah, the prophet of the Lord, needs to be told

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told the second time. After being told the first time, in clear, concise language, he proceeds in the wrong way. God takes radical measures, and they're designed to cause Jonah around. He's swallowed by a great fish, and Jonah repents

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and is vomited on dry land. And it seems that Jonah is back in Palestine at the place where he was, back where he started. And And now Jonah makes a fresh start, a new beginning. He has a new call.

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And the Lord comes to him the second time. Now much happens between the first time and the second time. A great deal happens between the times.

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And I guess each one of us in a way living between the times, between the times. And the prophet of the Lord is addressed by the Word of the Lord between the times. So are we. So the Word comes, comes to us in our

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shortcomings, with our prejudices, with our hate, with bigotry, the Word comes to us where we are and as we are. The Word comes to Jonah with his bitterness, with his hatred toward the Ninevites. The Word comes once and the Word comes

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twice. As the old African-American spiritual puts "Done told you once, done told you twice, "there's sinners in hell for shooting dice." (audience laughing)

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Second time. Second time. "Though the Word comes," I said, "to us as we are, the Word comes to us where we are.

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"The Word finds us and addresses us." It addresses the human condition. Word comes to us at home in familiar circumstances, while we are in our neatly made mess of complacency,

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word comes and speaks to us the first time. When we fail to obey, the Word comes a second time. Yes, God comes to us as we are and where we are. Whether we hear the Word or not, the Word comes.

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God's Word comes. We may be tossed and driven by cruel winds of fate. God's Word comes. We may be on the angry billows of the deep when contrary waves

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of affliction beat against us, but God's Word comes. We may be engulfed by demons of the deep, but God's Word comes. And the thing about God's Word is that He shows His mercy by coming back time and time again. On the second visit, He addresses Jonah

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saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, and do the preaching I bid you." you. Tell them what I told you to tell them." Now, one cannot remain in Palestine and make the journey to Nineveh. One must depart from the narrow confines of provincialism, depart from

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smug parochialism, and obey the divine command to go to Nineveh to rise above pet prejudices and cherished jealousies and make the journey to Nineveh. Some people never make the trip because they have no vision of new possibilities that await

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them in Nineveh. Jonah had the opportunity to preach the greatest sermon of his life. But the first time, he had spent the time lollygagging on the Mediterranean Sea on a cruise. Sometimes we wish to avoid going to unfamiliar places because we

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don't want to be first. Oh, you've heard that old adage, "Be the first to start anew or the last to lay the old aside, just be somewhere in between. Not first, because there's always a price to pay for being first. Jonah doesn't want to be the

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first to go to Nineveh and engage in a national revival. According to the biblical record, he's the first Hebrew commanded by God to go to Nineveh and preach against it." It's nice enough to go to Nineveh, understanding the

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circumstances. That was enough. But he says, "To preach against it." Now, you know, you don't like to hear the preacher preaching against something all the time. That's not popular at all. You don't get many amens many times when you are doing

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that sort of thing. But this is the command. Go to Nineveh and preach against it, the preaching that I bid you. So he used to cry out against this city. And so Jonah, this time, the second time, he arises and he goes. He meets the challenge. He abandons

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the familiar for the unfamiliar. He went from his homeland to a foreign country. Now, Nineveh is a great city. Gorgeous temples and picturesque palaces are the showplace of the East. Nineveh is a great city. The Assyrians are a great people. And though

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Now, Jonah does not think so. It is an outstanding metropolis. Nineveh is the capital of the Assyrian Empire. Her mighty armies made nations bow at her feet. Nineveh was a great city. She boasted of her size and of her population. She had more than her share of material goods.

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Nineveh was a great city. But something had happened to the soul of Nineveh. Vice was more popular than virtue in Nineveh. of moral corruption were everywhere to be seen. Loose

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living was the order of the day. Nineveh was a great city, but something had happened to the soul of Nineveh. Nineveh, drunk with the quest of material things and exalting in strength. She oppressed the weak. She was a great city, but something had happened to the soul of Nineveh. So with an arrogant twist

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of the neck. Nineveh turned away from the nations of the world, lifted up in her own selfish pride, saying, 'I am Nineveh. There is none beside me.'" Well, Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, but she was estranged from the eternal. Sin had distorted

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her thinking and poisoned her system. Nineveh was a great city, but she had violated the moral law of God, and the holiness of God frowned upon the city. The wideness of God's mercy was running out, and justice cried out that the evils

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of Nineveh had been tolerated long enough. Something must be done. So great were the sins of Nineveh, that when the sins of Nineveh went up before the throne of heaven, they pierced the heart of God, and brought tears from his eyes." Now, the

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prophet Jonah is on the scene. He's in Nineveh now. He's there deliver God's message. He tells the people what God says. This is God's message, he says. He's tolerated your foolishness long enough. You must repent or perish, and you have 40 days.

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That's the time limit. We all live under some time limit. What happened after Jonah's preaching is a miracle of grace. People of Nineveh believed God. They responded positively to Jonah's preaching. They proclaimed a fast, put on sackcloth and

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ashes. People by the thousands came to the mourner's bench, people of all classes, rich and poor, learned and unlearned. The and the low, from the king to the least of his subjects. God saw that they changed their ways. They repeated and averted

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disaster. But Jonah is angry. He wants to be the administrator of divine grace. He wants to be the one to distribute God's grace according to his likes and his dislikes. He doesn't like the Ninevites, so he doesn't see why God ought to be concerned about

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preserving the Ninevites. So he's angry. He's not only angry not only angry with the Ninevites, he's angry with God. And because God has acted according to His love and His grace and His mercy, Jonah doesn't like this. In other

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words, he didn't act according to Jonah's expectations. So God tells Jonah that the people will be given his grace and that the city will be spared. And Jonah has a quarrel with God. Jonah has to understand in his dialogue with God that God is

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bound by human expectations. And in other words, God is above all that we may say or think. So high that we can't get above Him, so low that we can't get under Him, so wide we can't get around Him. We just have to come as the song goes at the door. We

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to confront him. And so this is Jonah's situation. He has to confront him. He has to accept God's grace. And in accepting God's grace, he must realize that it is not limited to the Hebrews. You know, some people would like for God just to

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bless the people they like. And this is the main purpose of this book. The lessons that we can learn from Jonah is to be able to accept strangers, to accept people of other groups, other races, other classes, other nationalities, to be able

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to be Him. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither male nor female. You know, we're caught up, you know, with sexism. We're caught up with ageism. We're caught up with but with God, that there is a wideness. In Christ, there is no

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east or west. In him, no south or north, but one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide world." So, the enemies, we'd like to see them destroyed. As one saying that a man made some years ago that I remember, he said, "Oh, I pray

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for my enemies." He said, "I pray for them every day. I pray that God will trip them up." Trip them up. And many people are like that. He was sincere. In other words, and you can find instances, time and time again in the Psalms where they're

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praying that something--God will take care of the enemy. But here is the love of God. And God shows this love in spite of what we do. He sheds forth His love. Look, look, look at Jesus Christ." And we see God acting. Enemies fight against Him. They

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are planted in His audience, and they bring false charges against Him. But Jesus' love is still shed. They not only falsely accuse him and he's tried before Pilate, but he is crucified on a cross. Nails are driven in his hands

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and feet and he's wounded in the side and he dies and they bury him, but he gets up. God raised him up, which means that no matter what we may do, God is victorious. Truth rises up, don't crush to the ground, it rises again. And in

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spite of all that they've done, Jesus arises on Easter morning and said, "I have all power in my hand." That's the meaning of the second time. Aren't you glad that God speaks the second time because so many times we mess up with the first time, like Jonah

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But he comes the second time and speaks to him saying, "Arise." That's second time. I hear him now as he calls the second time. "Abraham." Abraham, second time. "Moses." Moses, the second time. "Saul." Saul, the second time. God visits us and speaks to us

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us the second time. Oh, I see Peter as he denies Jesus Christ and he goes away in sadness. He's weeping, but when Jesus arises, he says to his disciples, "Go tell--go--go--go tell the disciples, the others, to meet me in Galilee." And he

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said, "Be sure and tell Peter." "Be sure and tell Peter." In other words, he comes back the second time, no matter what we may do, God comes the second time. Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God. Praise to His name that He comes to us the second

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time, bidding us to arise and carry out His will. As we sing the hymn of invitation, we extend the privilege of the church. The invitation to Christian discipleship may come by letter, by Christian experience, or on profession of

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faith. Maybe this is for you the second time. We invite you to come. Come. (Piano playing) Now the church is open. (soft piano music)

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Come, come. Come. (gentle piano music) Lord, the church is open.

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By letter, by Christian experience, our profession of faith. Come, come. ♪ I love the Lord ♪

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♪ He heard my cry ♪ ♪ And he is there ♪ ♪ As we cry ♪ ♪ Strong as I am ♪

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♪ I'm told Christ ♪ ♪ Will be sent to you ♪ ♪ Is strong ♪ ♪ I love the Lord ♪

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♪ He heard my cry ♪ ♪ And pity ♪ ♪ Be grown ♪ ♪ Long as I live ♪

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♪ And troubles rise ♪ ♪ I'll haste unto ♪ ♪ Ooh, I got to run on ♪ ♪ To my God's throne ♪

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♪ I love the Lord ♪ He did something else for me. ♪ He bowed his ear ♪ ♪ And chased my grief ♪

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♪ Always ♪ ♪ Oh, let my heart ♪ ♪ No more despair ♪ ♪ While I have breath ♪

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♪ Yes, I have breath to praise ♪ ♪ Oh, may the grace ♪ ♪ How sweet the sound ♪ ♪ Saved the wretch ♪

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♪ Saved the wretch like me ♪ ♪ I once was blind ♪ ♪ But right now I can see ♪ ♪ I once was blind, children ♪

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♪ But thank God, thank God ♪ ♪ Right now ♪ ♪ He helped me to see ♪ ♪ I'm all alone ♪

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♪ Because he heard my cry ♪ ♪ And it's been every year ♪ ♪ Every year, every year ♪ ♪ Every grown ♪

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♪ Long, long, long as I live ♪ ♪ I'm sure of a ride ♪ ♪ I'm gonna run on, run around ♪ ♪ Oh Lord ♪

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♪ I'm gonna run on ♪ ♪ My head is blue, it's low ♪ ♪ I'll hasten to His throne ♪ ♪ Sure did, I'll hasten to His throne ♪

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♪ I'll hasten to His throne ♪ by our heads. Eternal God, grant that we may go to Nineveh in response to Your command and be channels of Your divine grace, mercy, and love. Amen.

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