SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/25/2025 9:17 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “A Repentant Multitude”
Bible Reading and Meditation Reference: Jonah 3:5
Message of the verses: “And the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.”
This section is not really long, but because of the weekend I am going to look at it in two parts. I think that as we look at this section we will be able to see that this is what God had planned to do through His prophet, even though it took Jonah a while to get this done. We begin with a remarkable understatement, Jonah recounted that the people of Nineveh believed in God, and as I just said this is the major point of what the book of Jonah is all about, and for that matter this can be said of anyone at anytime in the history of this world to do what these people of Nineveh did according to the book of Jonah. So after hearing the dire message of coming judgment, the Ninevites turned from their arrogance and iniquity and believed in God. John MacArthur makes the true and wonderful point: “Salvation is always by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9), and without faith no one can please the Lord (Heb. 11:1-6.” Let’s look at these very important verses at this time:
“1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
MacArthur then goes on to write: “Such faith is never limited to mere intellectual assent or agreement (cf. James 2:19) but includes complete trust and reliance on God Himself. Considering the simple brevity of Jonah’s message and the repugnant reputation of the Ninevites, who were known for their savage brutality (see ‘Historical Context’ in the Introduction),” (something I have already posted in an earlier SD), “such repentant faith was clearly a miraculous work of God (cf. Acts 16:14; Eph. 2:10; 2 Cor. 4:1-6; 2 Peter 1:1). Just as Abraham believed in God and was justified (Gen. 15:6), so the Ninevites believed God and were saved. The Lord gave them the same faith He had bestowed on Abraham and all other believers throughout redemptive history (cf. Rom. 4:3-5). Given the scale of the response, with hundreds of thousands of the people of Nineveh repenting, the salvation sparked by Jonah’s preaching has no equal in redemptive history.” I want to look at Rom. 4:3-5 at this time “3 For what does the Scripture say?”ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." 4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”
Spiritual meaning For My life Today: I can see that there is no difference on how a person is saved, for all in the Old Testament looked ahead to the Savior coming, and in the New Testament looked back at what He did.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trusting the Lord to take care of a prayer that many are praying for my wife as the same thing happened to her after her first Chemo treatment that is happening now. You don’t have to know what it is to ask the Lord to answer our prayers for her.
10/25/2025 9:44 AM
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