Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2020

CHAPEL NOTES OUR GOD IS A MISSIONARY GOD The following is an excerpt from a January 8, 2020, chapel presentation by Danny Akin, who was the keynote speaker for this year’s GO (Global Outreach) Conference. Listen to his full remarks and other conference messages at cedarville.edu/chapel . Join the University family in chapel each day via the livestream broadcast ( cedarville.edu/chapellive ) or Facebook Live ( cedarville.edu/facebook ) . Past messages are also archived at cedarville.edu/chapel . March 24–25 Sam Allberry Author and Editor The Gospel Coalition Maidenhead, UK I want to raise a question for you from each chapter of the book of Jonah: Chapter 1: Are you running from God? Jonah rejected God's will for his life. And so rather than going east to Nineveh, Jonah heads west by sea to Tarshish. God hurled a great wind upon the sea so that the ship threatened to break up. All of the mariners are freaking out. They cast lots, and the lots fell on Jonah. Jonah says, “Pick me up; hurl me into the sea, and the sea will quiet down for you.” Even in a place like Cedarville, it is possible for you to be trying to hide from the God that none of us can hide from. Chapter 2: Do you need to be rescued by God? The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And while Jonah is in the belly of the fish, he prays. As long as you and I have breath, it is not too late to turn to God. Jonah prays, and God hears. Our God is a good father and as a good father, He will discipline His children when they sin. Jonah had sinned against the Lord, and the Lord loves Jonah. God sent the great fish to save Jonah. Jonah offers a deathbed promise: Lord, I promise You, if you will save me, I'll go preach. Then you have the most important phrase in all the Bible, “Salvation is of the Lord!” (v.9). Chapter 3: Do you need God to give you another chance? Jonah certainly did. Jonah arose and he went to Nineveh. When in repentance the people of Nineveh turned around and ran back toward God, what did they find? God's grace. We love and serve a God of the second and the third and the fourth and the 1,000th and the 10,000th chance. Chapter 4: Do lost people matter to you? Jonah is a prophet of God. He has just preached the greatest revival in the history of the world. Any preacher would be thrilled with what God had done. But that's not what we read. “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry” (v.1). Jonah knew that Israel was in disobedience to the Lord, and he knew that it was very likely, from the other prophets, that God would use the Assyrians as His instrument of discipline. Jonah was very proud of national Israel, and the idea of God wiping out these other pagans was the best news he had ever heard. “That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster” (v.2b). God appointed a plant, and it came up over Jonah and provided shade, which made Jonah happy. But God appoints a worm that ate away at the root system, and the plant withered. And God said to Jonah, “Are you angry about the plant?” Here is where we bring the book to an end. You didn't labor for the plant. You didn't make it grow. Should I not pity Nineveh? Do you care about lost people like God does? Will you, like our God, take extraordinary measures to see the nations claim King Jesus? Danny Akin is President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Will you, like our God, take extraordinary measures to see the nations claim King Jesus? March 30 Freedom to Flourish Speaker Series Wayne Grudem Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies Phoenix Seminary Phoenix, Arizona March 31 Tim Armstrong ’89 Senior Pastor The Chapel Akron, Ohio April 15 Jennifer Patterson (formerly Marshall) Vice President, Institute for Family, Community, & Opportunity The Heritage Foundation Washington, D.C. 32 | Cedarville Magazine