"And God Relented"

Pastor Dan Anderson's sermon, Sunday January 22, 2012, as heard by me, Jean Sharp.

Jonah 3: 1-10

And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. For word came unto the King of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.  And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed , nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said he would do unto them; and he did it not.
     Pastor Dan said if God should decide to destroy Perryton, and the people called a fast, putting  on sackcloth, and if he, Pastor Dan, should put on a gunny sack robe, come to church and set outside on a bed of ashes, a visitor from the law enforcement would come to visit him. How true that is. Seems like most people believe the Old Testament is not for us today, but I believe it is as much a part of God's word as is the New Testament. It is there to warn and remind us of what God has done in the past and what he will do in the future. God honored the true repentence of the people and did not destroy Neneveh as he had planned. Even the King pulled off his robe and put on sackcloth,( modern word,) gunnysacks, for a covering. The truth is, the people of Neneveh was just as proud of themselves and their city as we are today, yet they humbled themselves to the very lowest of humanity, and God saw and saved their city.

God bless all
Myrtle Jean Sharp