Skip to content The Restless Heart of An Angry Prophet | Jonah 04 | Rev Paul Jeyachandran Jan 4 · 48 min ...more
The Restless Heart of An Angry Prophet | Jonah 04 | Rev Paul Jeyachandran
January 4, 2026 · 48 min
Are you succeeding outwardly while failing inwardly? It is easy to lead a church or mentor others while harbouring a restless, offended heart that resents God’s mercy. In this powerful lesson on Jonah Chapter 4, Rev Paul Jeyachandran challenges Christian leaders to examine the "three movements of the heart"—from being offended and obstructed to becoming fully opened and offered to God. By addressing primal wounds and the cynicism that darkens the mind, this sermon provides essential training for pastors and leaders seeking genuine spiritual growth. Learn to use the "four T’s" of biblical narrative—Tone, Tension, Twist, and Theology—to find transformative truth in scripture. Don’t let an overcrowded soul or hidden offence paralyse your will. Dive into this study to ensure your core is as correct as your creed and experience the healing power of God’s restorative questions today.#ChristianLeadership #JonahSermon #PastorTraining #ChurchGrowth #InnerHealing #BiblicalTheology #IDMCMovement #SpiritualGrowth #RevPaulJeyachandran
Series IDMC Movement January 4, 2026 · 48 min · IDMC Movement
Are you succeeding outwardly while failing inwardly? It is easy to lead a church or mentor others while harbouring a restless, offended heart that resents God’s mercy. In this powerful lesson on Jonah Chapter 4, Rev Paul Jeyachandran challenges Christian leaders to examine the "three movements of the heart"—from being offended and obstructed to becoming fully opened and offered to God. By addressing primal wounds and the cynicism that darkens the mind, this sermon provides essential training for pastors and leaders seeking genuine spiritual growth. Learn to use the "four T’s" of biblical narrative—Tone, Tension, Twist, and Theology—to find transformative truth in scripture. Don’t let an overcrowded soul or hidden offence paralyse your will. Dive into this study to ensure your core is as correct as your creed and experience the healing power of God’s restorative questions today.#ChristianLeadership #JonahSermon #PastorTraining #ChurchGrowth #InnerHealing #BiblicalTheology #IDMCMovement #SpiritualGrowth #RevPaulJeyachandran ...more Show the full description Show less Are you succeeding outwardly while failing inwardly? It is easy to lead a church or mentor others while harbouring a restless, offended heart that resents God’s mercy. In this powerful lesson on Jonah Chapter 4, Rev Paul Jeyachandran challenges Christian leaders to examine the "three movements of the heart"—from being offended and obstructed to becoming fully opened and offered to God. By addressing primal wounds and the cynicism that darkens the mind, this sermon provides essential training for pastors and leaders seeking genuine spiritual growth. Learn to use the "four T’s" of biblical narrative—Tone, Tension, Twist, and Theology—to find transformative truth in scripture. Don’t let an overcrowded soul or hidden offence paralyse your will. Dive into this study to ensure your core is as correct as your creed and experience the healing power of God’s restorative questions today.#ChristianLeadership #JonahSermon #PastorTraining #ChurchGrowth #InnerHealing #BiblicalTheology #IDMCMovement #SpiritualGrowth #RevPaulJeyachandran
Series IDMC Movement
316K followers
Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
316K followers
0:01 Shall we give the Lord a clap offering church? Hallelujah. What a joy and a privilege for us to gather together and worship the Lord and to study the word of God. You know, we are in a sermon0:13 series on the missionary heart of God. And today is part 4. I'm titling this sermon, The Restless Heart of an Angry Prophet. These are the lessons from the book of0:24 Jonah. So far we have covered up to chapter 3. And in today's sermon, we're going to focus on the first few verses, maybe up to 4 or 5 verses in the book of Jonah chapter 4.0:36 The Bible ends in chapter 3 in verse 10, when God saw what they did, how they turned from the evil way, God relented of the disaster that he0:48 had said that he would do to them, and he did not do it. The Bible says God saw people's repentance. The city of Nineveh repented from the insignificant1:00 animals to the significant, the important kings. Everyone repented, the Bible says. And when God saw that repentance, see repentance can be seen. It is a change of1:12 attitude. It is a change of affection. It is a change of action. And this repentance God saw, and as a result, the Bible says God relented from the disaster that he was going to1:24 bring upon Nineveh. This should have ended there. See, if the story was about Jonah visiting Nineveh and preaching a1:35 judgment and bringing the city of Nineveh to its knees and bringing it a realignment back to God, then the story should have ended there. But the Bible says there was a1:47 chapter 4. Now, why is there a chapter 4? There is a chapter 4 because God is not finished with the work. See, sometimes we think that God is interested in the work He can accomplish through
1:59 us, but God is interested in the work that He can accomplish in us, within us. So even though chapter 3 says that Nineveh needed revival, chapter 4, you
2:10 discover that Jonah himself needed a revival and God was dealing patiently with the worker more than his work. Praise God. Listen to
2:22 this carefully. Now, whenever you study the scripture, I want you to give some Bible lenses, lenses, study lenses to use in order to study a passage. See, narrative
2:34 passages are the easiest to study, isn't it? But even there, you can actually dig deeper if you know how to look for certain things. So as a Bible teacher, it is my greatest joy to give
2:46 people the gift of seeing, ability to see for themselves in the text. So I want to give you some of the tools that I use to see this text in order that the text will
2:58 come alive and I can dig deeper. 1 of the tools I use in a narrative passage especially is 4 things, 4 T's. The first 1 is the tone. What
3:10 is the tone being used? See, sometimes you pay attention to what is being said, but you also need to pay attention to how it is being said because the how will give you a depth of
3:21 understanding. Secondly, it's the tension. Every time there is a narrative tension, the story builds up, there's a climax, there's suspense, That tension is beautiful to observe.
3:33 The third 1 is the twist. Always remember the movies that keep you at the grip, at the edge of your seat, you know, where you're gripping the seat and to discover what will happen. Those movies
3:45 have a surprise element. There's always an moment. There is a twist. So don't just look for the storyline, look for the surprise, the twist. And lastly, it's the theology
3:57 because every biblical narrative has a theological purpose. And we need to see God, who God is and how he deals with his people. The principles, the unchanging principles of
4:09 God. Hallelujah. So not only these 4 things are a tool, but sometimes if you want to reflect deeply about what the passage is saying, I want to give you
4:21 4 additional things that I look for. Number 1, I look for silence. Not only the speech. Don't just pay attention to the speech. Pay attention to not just what is
4:33 being said, but what is not being said. The silence. The second 1 is questions. See, many times people look for the answers in the text, but we need to gleam the
4:45 questions. We need to look for the questions because the questions reveal much more. It reveal what you value, it reveals your heart condition, it actually is good. God asks a lot
4:56 of questions. The third 1 is incongruence. Sometimes you think everything should be behaving this way, but there is something out of character. That incongruence, when you study it deeper,
5:08 it brings out a deeper shade of meaning. And lastly, it's the actions. Pay attention to the verbs, pay attention to what is happening. What is the subject doing? All of that actions
5:20 you got to pay attention. So when you study these 4 things, and I want you to use the lenses to study the book of Jonah, because book of Jonah is a land, it's a beautiful gold mine for me
5:32 because it has so many theological truths that you can pull out. So many life principles that you can pull out. You know, in the first chapter, God was dealing with a running prophet.
5:45 He was not only seen running in chapter 1, but he was also seen sleeping in chapter 1. In chapter 2, he was drowning. Not only was he drowning, he ended up
5:56 praying. So he was running, he was sleeping in chapter 1. In chapter 2, he was drowning and he was praying. In chapter 3, the Bible records he started obeying. He was
6:08 obeying and then he was preaching. That was what God had commissioned him to do, to obey and to preach. So he was obeying and preaching. But then in chapter 4, the natural conclusion would be
6:20 after a great revival takes place in the city of Nineveh, there should be rejoicing and dancing or rejoicing and celebration. But instead, you'll find in chapter
6:32 4, the prophet is sulking and wishing to die. See, this is what you got to pay attention to. That's the incongruence. These are the actions that are taking place. And this
6:44 reveals something beautiful that God is now going to deal with something important. Always remember this, the heart of the problem is the problem of the
6:55 heart, isn't it? The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. And even in chapter 4, that's what you and I will discover. See in chapter 1, God had the mind of Jonah. Jonah
7:07 knew exactly what God wanted him to do. In chapter 2, God had the will of Jonah. In other words, Jonah said, I will pay what you have asked me. In chapter 3, God
7:19 took the control of the body of Jonah, body obeyed and went to Nineveh to preach. He got the mind, he got the will, he got the body, but yet there is a chapter 4 because
7:31 God did not get 1 thing. You know what it is? It is Jonah's heart. See, he is a prophet who is representing God, but he doesn't have the
7:43 heart of God. In other words, God shows mercy, Jonah becomes miserable. That's what you will find in chapter 4. God shows
7:54 mercy, but Jonah becomes miserable. In other words, when God's mercy may causes you to become misery, you gotta ask yourself this question, what's wrong
8:06 here? That's exactly the point. That's why we have a chapter 4. And in chapter 4, this is the principle God is dealing with the restless heart of the angry prophet. God
8:17 is dealing with the restless heart of the angry prophet. I want you to read with me the first 4 verses, then we will unpack it together. The Bible says, But
8:29 it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, Oh Lord, is this not what I said in my country?
8:41 That is why I made haste to flee to Tashish for I knew that you are a gracious God, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore
8:53 now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. And verse 4, And the Lord said, do you do well to be angry? And
9:05 the Bible says in verse 5, Jonah just left the place where God was speaking to him, and he went towards the east and he sat down to see what would happen to
9:17 the city of Nineveh. In other words, this is the story. And I want you to think about why was God showing, why would God add
9:29 another chapter? The reason he's adding another chapter is because he wants to deal with the restless heart of the angry prophet. Isn't it jarring?
9:41 Is this is so jarring? In other words, God relents, Jonah resents. And when I see this, I see there are at least 3 movements of
9:53 heart that we have to examine. We can't go past this. That's why we're going to stop here and meditate here. There are 3 movements that I find in the dealing of God with
10:04 Jonah. The first 1 is the problem of an offended heart. The second is the pattern of an obstructed heart. And thirdly, it's the pathway to an opened heart.
10:17 The first 1 is the problem of an offended heart. See, why would Jonah do this? Let's repeat that principle again. God relents and
10:29 Jonah resents. God relents, but Jonah resents. In other words, Jonah was offended. See, listen to this carefully. In verse 10, the Bible
10:41 says, when God saw what they did, how they turned from the evil way, God relented of the disaster. But see right there is the whole butting of the
10:52 wills, isn't it? The butting match between God and Jonah. It displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was angry. You know, Bible scholars will tell you that that word anger there is
11:04 to the point of rage, to the point where he is saying, I am damn angry. In other words, I'm really, really frustrated here. It's
11:15 exceedingly anger, exceedingly angry. I want you to think about this. That's how the Bible actually says. See, whenever you observe this, there's no other explanation
11:26 why this is the case when everyone in the world will be celebrating. See, I have the privilege of working with many pastors and evangelists who run crusades, mass
11:38 crusades all over the world and when they go to places like a like a say for example an evangelist goes to a nation of India or goes to a nation of Africa and he runs a large crusade and
11:50 has hundreds of thousands of people in the meeting. And then the entire crowd repents from the mayor of the city to every government official to
12:01 everyone in the city, noble and aristocrats and rich families and celebrities, every 1 of them repent. What would you do? You would video this whole
12:13 thing and then you will upload it to all the social media platforms and you say, how to turn a city in 40 days. Watch and learn. I'm running a 3 day crusade and a 3 day
12:25 conference, a power conference for you to learn how to do the same thing in your ministry. That's not what he did. Instead of celebrating, he was sulking.
12:36 Now, right there, you have to ask this question, why? Can I give you a framework to think about? This will apply to you in all sorts of situations in your workplace, in your family life.
12:49 This is the framework. I want to give you 3 C's, conduct, character, and condition of heart. See, the Bible says that when you look at a person, all you can observe is
13:01 the fruit, is the conduct, is their behavior. And based on their conduct, you can make an estimate of what kind of tree they are. Isn't it based on the fruit, you can tell
13:13 what kind of tree. That means the conduct gives me a window into their soul to think about their character. In other words, when I see them behaving badly, I can assume that this is
13:25 a bad character. But sometimes in life I've noticed that sometimes good people behave out of character. They are good people. In other words, it's a good tree, but in this case, they're
13:37 producing a bad fruit. Oh dear, that is confusing. Bad tree produces bad fruit and good tree produces good fruit, but sometimes good tree produces bad fruit.
13:48 Why? That's where the third C happens. It is the condition of the human heart. You have to ask what is happening in the heart. The heart could be hurt,
14:01 The heart could be offended. The heart is going through some pain. And as a result, there is a resistance. Listen to me carefully. In this
14:12 case, Jonah was resisting what God was doing. He was extremely displeased. He considered the mercy that God showed to Nineveh an evil.
14:25 And he says, I'm extremely angry. Listen to this. Is it because of ignorance that Jonah behaves like this? I don't think so. It is not because
14:37 of ignorance Jonah behaves like this because of offense. There is an offense that is lodged in his heart. What is the offense? The offense could be that he is hurt by
14:48 the Assyrians. He has been hurt. See, the Assyrians are people that are brutal. When they deal with their enemies, they skin their men alive. They kill their women and children with
15:00 their spears and pierce the spears through the children's skull. In other words, these are brutal people. They don't deserve to be forgiven. They don't deserve to be saved. That is in Jonah's heart. Maybe
15:12 he was personally offended by them, who knows? But in this case, he is, there is something in his heart that is restricting him. So his problem was not ignorance, his problem was
15:24 offense. How do I know it's not ignorance, but offense? Because his theology is right. Look at this. In Jonah chapter 4 verse 2, he says, And he prayed to the Lord
15:36 and said, Oh Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish. For I knew that you are a
15:47 gracious God, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, relenting from disaster. He had the right theology. He
15:59 knew who God is. He knew the attributes of God, the character of God. These are the things that anyone will take comfort from. This is the exact reason why he flee to Tashish, the Bible
16:11 says. Why? Because he was saying that this theology is what made me run away because I knew you are a God who is so merciful. You will relent when they repent.
16:23 And I didn't want it. Can I give you a principle? His creed is correct, but his core is corrupt. In other words, there is truth in his mind, but there is
16:35 turmoil in his heart. In other words, how could you actually have a right theology and yet you do not have the right posture? You're principally
16:47 right, but posture is wrong. Your position is right, but your disposition is wrong. Listen to me carefully. This is the danger I see in
16:59 many of our lives, including mine. The danger is this the greatest danger in ministry is succeeding outwardly while failing inwardly. In other
17:11 words, on the outside, you come to church, you lead the groups, you give, you serve, you do the things, you could even preach, you could even be on a sitting on a board and and
17:23 do all the decisions for the church, you could be a person who is contributing at a higher level yet decaying on the inside. That was the story of Jonah. The
17:34 problem of an offended heart. You can't tell on the outside, but something is stewing on the inside. The second 1 is the pattern of an
17:46 obstructed heart. The pattern. I ask myself the question, what causes obstruction? What causes the restriction in someone's heart? Why would they
17:58 resist the will of God? See, his feet is obeying God, but his feelings are denying God, isn't it? See, this is the this is the pathway you have to understand. The Bible says in verse
18:09 1, but it displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was angry. He was exceedingly angry. Verse 3 says, Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life
18:21 from me for it is better for me to die than to live. My goodness, I want you to see the repeated phrases. See, chapter 4 is a chapter where you find this
18:33 prophet. In chapter 1, he was suicidal, throw me into the sea, throw me overboard, I don't care if I die. That was his attitude. In chapter 4, even more,
18:46 he is repeating this phrase twice. There's a repeated phrase. Verse 3 and verse 8, it says, For it is better for me to die than to live. What a tragic situation.
18:58 Instead of rejoicing, He is here sulking, and not just sulking, but wishing to die. I want you to also observe another thing. There are some
19:09 extreme emotions that are used here and the Holy Spirit highlights it for us. In verse 1, it says he was exceedingly angry. But then in verse 6,
19:21 there was a plant that God made it to grow very fast and bring shade for Jonah. And this plant made Jonah exceedingly glad. Again, the
19:33 Holy Spirit writes it by pointing that his emotions are extremes. How could you go from extreme anger to extreme gladness? I tell you what, it
19:45 is because his emotion are in a volatile, fluctuating manner. It's going high and low. His highs are very high, his lows are very low. In other words, on
19:57 Sunday, he could be so worshipful. He would be jumping up and down. On Monday, he's totally suicidal and depressed. Possible. Why? Because there is something. His emotions
20:09 is out of whack. See, this is what I want you to understand. When a man and a woman are walking with God, the Holy Spirit that dwells within them, the first
20:21 place he's going to put a check on and control is your emotions. See, when you read the book of Galatians, all the stuff that the fruit of the spirit produces, they're all emotions.
20:32 Love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, meekness, self control, everything comes from the Holy Spirit. But when you're not
20:44 subjected to the Holy Spirit, instead you are subjected to the carnality of your flesh. What happens? Your emotions are running wild. Here's a man who is resisting God, and
20:55 you can tell he's immature. He's like a child that is throwing tantrums. And in this case, his heart is volatile. His emotions are
21:07 fluctuating. Let me give you the reason why I think this happens. Because as a pastor who has walked with other pastors in ministry, as well as
21:19 a family counselor, someone who has counseled countless number of marriages, I can tell you this, that there is something that they go through in their life that causes
21:31 them to have that restricted heart, that obstructed heart, and it produces the rebellious heart, the offensive heart. Let me give you a framework. This was written in a book by Reverend
21:43 Edmond Chan, and he had a vision from God. And in that vision, he saw God speaking to him 4 key things, and he has written about it. And this I have, I have processed in my own
21:55 life. I have, I have taught it all over the world. And many who hear it always say they can identify with these 4 things. This is not just for pastors who are frustrated in ministry or
22:06 disappointed in ministry. This could be for marriages that are going through a stale period and you are fighting, are at odds with each other. Sometimes it's because of these 4 things. This is the cause of the
22:18 obstruction of heart. Number 1, it's the primal wounds of the heart. Primal wounds are hurts that hardens. See, these are hurts
22:30 that happen during the formative years of your life. See, your husband could be a beautiful champion. He loves the Lord, he loves you, but you cannot
22:41 agree, you cannot enjoy, you cannot receive. You know why? Because you still carry primal wounds of the past. In other words, there's your heart
22:53 had been hurt by your father or maybe your ex boyfriend or an ex husband, something has left a scar and that primal wound is not healed. When that wound is not
23:05 healed, it's going to fester and no matter how good your current boyfriend or husband is, you will always think he is like them.
23:17 He is like him. He will never change. I will be hurt. These are primal wounds that we have to heal. How does God work with us if our heart is
23:29 already restricted? We have to break open our heart, bring before God all our pains, all our hurts, all our sorrows and say to the Lord, Lord, help me deal with this, process this
23:40 pain in light of the scriptures, in light of the sovereignty of God, in light of the plan and purpose of God and the promise of God. And you will need to be healed. The primal wounds
23:52 cause obstruction. The second 1 is the cynicism of the mind. The cynicism of the mind is the doubt that darkens. See, sometimes you go through disappointments. And
24:04 when you go through disappointments, you expected something, but in reality it was different. And the gap between the expectation and the reality that makes you become a cynic.
24:17 Sometimes the cynicism, the doubts that creep in, these doubts actually darken your future. Listen to me, you so filled with doubts that you don't want to engage with
24:29 your whole heart. You're not 100 percent in because there's a cynicism of the mind. The third 1 is the paralysis of the will. This is the fear that
24:40 freezes or this happened in the past and that past failure, that guilt, that shame, that condemnation. As much as people struggle with these
24:52 things, these things can become a crippling effect. See, you got to understand fear that freezes, it makes you immovable. You don't move, make a move, you don't make a
25:04 decision. Do you know that that indecision in itself is a decision? The longer you don't make that decision, the longer that indecision it'll cost you because that indecision is a decision
25:16 and that decision will spend your life. You'll waste your life. Listen to me carefully, we have to deal with this. And lastly, it's the
25:27 overcrowding of the soul. Sometimes it's the busyness that buries you. In other words, you fill your plate with so many things because you're chasing after all these pipe
25:39 dreams. Oh, I want to reach financial independence. Oh, I want to be rich by this time. Oh, I want to be able to do what I want to do, so therefore I'm doing this. So you're overcrowding your plate.
25:51 The more you put on your plate, the more you will be focusing on things that are urgent rather than things that are important. Because the
26:03 more it will demand your attention, you'll be diverted here, diverted there, you'll be pulled here, pulled there, you'll be distracted. As a result, your life doesn't go anywhere. Listen to me
26:14 carefully. It's almost like you're running on a treadmill. You're exercising. You're giving a lot of energy. You're spending a lot of energy, but your scenario, your landscape
26:26 has not shifted, has not changed. Why? Because you're running on a treadmill. In the same manner in life, it's not about doing urgent things. It's about doing
26:38 important things, but you have to have that perspective. How do you do when there is an overcrowding of the soul? When there's overcrowding of the soul, the demands of the work and other things, relationships
26:49 suffer, things that matter to the heart suffers. Can I give you a principle? This is the pattern of an obstructed heart I have seen.
27:01 Wounds unhealed becomes walls unseen. You would wonder why things are resistance. There is a resistance. Why I can't move? Why I can't experience that breakthrough?
27:14 Not look outside, look within. Problem is never on the outside, the problem is within. And here, Jonah, I can see in his heart, there is a
27:26 turmoil, there's a restlessness. In IDMC, we call this the churning within. And these wounds have to be healed before the walls can come down.
27:38 The third movement I see here is the pathway to an opened heart. You know, in Jonah chapter 4, God is so patient and He deals with the
27:49 prophet in a gentle manner. See, I love this picture of God. In chapter 1, when Jonah was running away and he was sleeping in the midst of the storm, you know what
28:01 God did? The Bible says God hurled a violent storm. The Lord appointed a fish. In other words, it was all violent and dramatic. But in chapter 4, there is nothing
28:13 dramatic. There's nothing violent, nothing aggressive. Instead, God was very, very quietly, subtly, silently doing things. That's a beautiful picture. In
28:25 other words, God doesn't necessarily have to scream at you all the time. Sometimes He does, but sometimes it's just a gentle nudge. Maybe it's a loving mentor sitting down with you and bringing you
28:37 a correction. Maybe it is someone who is a friend who says to you, if you keep behaving like this, this is what will happen to your marriage. Maybe it is someone in the life group or someone in the church comes and
28:49 gives you a word and says, hey brother, hey sister, pay attention to this before it's too late. Listen to me. It may not be dramatic, but it's just a subtle way God is getting
29:01 your attention. Here in chapter 4 in verse 4, God reveals that He actually is asking the prophet a question. Look at this. And the Lord said, do
29:13 you do well to be angry? Do you do well to be angry? The first thing that I want to explore is why would God ask a question?
29:25 In my own pilgrimage, I've discovered this, that God heals through questions. When you study the Bible, the first, when Adam and Eve fell in the book of
29:36 Genesis, God asked the first question, where are you, Adam? You know, the Bible says that when Elijah was running away from Jezebel and he was hiding in
29:48 a cave and God comes to him, there a fire, there was a thunder, and then there was a silent whisper. And in that whisper, God asked Elijah 1
30:00 question and he repeated it twice. See, God doesn't repeat it for the sake of Elijah. God doesn't repeat it for sake of himself. God repeats it for the sake of Elijah
30:12 because Elijah didn't get it. Sometimes God repeats the same question to you and me. Why? Because we didn't get it. And he asked the question to Elijah, what are you doing here,
30:23 Elijah? See, I love these questions. See, 1 time I believe I was just sitting on this 1 question. What are you doing here, Elijah? Why would God ask that question
30:35 twice? Here's a man who is running away from a death sentence upon his life. Jezebel said, Before I finish dinner tonight, I will kill you. And he
30:46 runs for his life. He left Israel. He went all the way to Mount Horeb in Sinai Peninsula, and he's hiding in a cave. And God comes to him in 1 Kings 19,
30:58 and God says to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? And Elijah says, Lord, they have killed all your prophets. I'm the only 1 alive
31:10 and I'm here. And God repeats the same question. What are you doing here, Elijah? And Elijah repeats the same answer, Lord, they have killed all your prophets. I'm the only 1 who is left
31:22 alive. So I ran for my life. I'm here. Why would God ask this question? See, every time you study the question, ask yourself this. Where does the emphasis need to be
31:34 placed? Where do you place the emphasis? Because it will actually change the meaning of that question or the answer you derive. Let me explain. What are you doing here? If
31:46 the emphasis is on the word here, what are you doing here? In other words, I left you as a prophet in Israel. What are you doing in Sinai Peninsula? Here, you have
31:57 no business to be here. That's the God appointed place go back number 2 what are you doing here if the emphasis is on the word doing then God is saying
32:09 to Elijah Elijah what are you doing here why are you hiding You are a prophet who stands before God and declares the word of the Lord. You were so strong before
32:21 Ahab, and you declared that for 3 years there will be no rain. And there was no rain, there was drought. Now why would you be hiding here? What are you doing here?
32:33 But I believe the emphasis is not on the word here or doing, the emphasis is on the word you. What are you doing here? What are you doing
32:45 here? In other words, what are you Elijah, the prophet of God? What are you doing here? Why is that important pastor? Let me explain. What are you? You are
32:56 prophet. God has laid hold of you. God has called you. God will only do what He plans to do with your life. No 1 can take your life away.
33:08 No 1 can stop you from doing the will of God. What are you doing here? See, he is running away from Jezebel and he is trying to preserve his life because he doesn't want to die.
33:21 But do you know that he is the only prophet in the old testament in that era that is not going to face death? He is the undying prophet. He was translated, the
33:33 Bible says, into eternity. Listen to me. In other words, the guy who will never die fears about dying. In other words, what God was highlighting is Elijah, this is irrational.
33:45 You, do you know who you are? Do you know whose you are? When you forget who you are, when you forget whose you are, that's when you allow the hurt, the pain, the crippling
33:57 effect of paralysis of the will and the cynicism of the mind, the doubts, the overcrowding. All this is a symptom of you forgetting who you are and whose you are.
34:09 Hallelujah. So in that moment, Elijah responds. See, God never actually addressed the fear of Elijah. God just recommissions
34:21 him and says, Go back to Israel, appoint them as king, find your successor, move on. Listen to me carefully. The questions are important. Jesus asked these questions to the disciples,
34:32 Why are you afraid? In other words, don't you know that I'm with you? I'm on this boat with you. Why are you afraid? Jesus took Peter
34:44 aside in John chapter 21, and he asked him 1 question 3 times. Do you know what that question is? Do you love me? Do you love me?
34:56 Do you love me, Peter? And Peter broke down. Why 3 times? 3 times he denied Christ, 3 times God restores him. And God gives him that same
35:07 question. Do you love me? Can I give you a principle why God uses questions? Because answers inform you, but questions transform you.
35:19 Answers inform you, but questions transform you. Have you ever sat down with God, with the word of God and with your reflection, your with your journal,
35:31 as you're reading the scriptures, as you're reflecting about your life, as you're recording down the thoughts? Have you ever come across the questions that God is asking your soul?
35:43 It could be similar to this question. The question is, do you do well to be angry? See, Jonah was angry. Let me address that issue. He was emotionally charged.
35:55 There was a churning with it. There was a restlessness. See, God is not upset that the prophet is angry. See, anger is a spiritual MRI. It just reveals what he
36:06 already values. It reveals his heart condition. So God was actually opening and doing a surgery on him by asking him a loving question. The questions
36:18 is to bring healing. The questions is to bring a gentle correction and counsel. And God is saying to him, evaluate. Jonah was angry. You
36:30 know, many times I've seen people in life, they are very angry about something that God did or God didn't do or someone did to them. And that anger that is lodged in your
36:42 soul, it actually reveals what you value most. I can tell you it's actually your pride that you value most. It is your ego that you are trying to protect. It is you being selfish and
36:54 self absorbed that causes you to get angry many times because you didn't want to look like a fool. You didn't want to look like somebody, nobody. Do they know who I am? Those things are the ones that causes you to
37:06 be angry. In this case, that anger reveals something about Jonah's heart to Jonah himself. But you know how Jonah responded? Jonah responded in absolute silence. The
37:18 Bible says in verse 5, Jonah went out of the city, sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it the shade till he should see what would become of that
37:29 city. In other words, Jonah never responded to God's question. God says to him, do you do well to be angry? And you know what? Instead of asking himself, Is
37:41 my anger righteous anger? Or is it an irrational anger because of my pride, because of my ego? Listen to me carefully. He never examined that. Instead, he is
37:53 sulking and now he has turned silent. How often we respond in the same way? Can I give you a principle? Sometimes our greatest rebellion is
38:04 not our words, but our silence. Sometimes your greatest rebellion is not what you say, it's what you don't say in your
38:15 silence. You know, when God says to you, let go of that bitterness, you become silent. When God says to you, forgive that person and reconcile, you become
38:27 silent. When God says to you, I want you to give and empty your bank account, you go silent. When God says to you, I want you to be honorable in your relationships,
38:39 you go silent. When God says to you, I want you to destroy this idol in your heart and leave that idol, you go silent. You say no comment.
38:51 Listen to me carefully. This silence of Jonah reveals his heart condition that his heart is not open yet. It is closed. But God is patient.
39:03 Can I give you a principle? No sinner is too far for mercy and no saint is too formed for correction. Even this morning as you're listening to me,
39:15 God is calling you and He's asking you to respond. He wants to bring correction to your soul. Maybe you're an offended heart, maybe you're an obstructed heart, but God says to you, IShow more
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Paul Jeyachandran
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