SPB Sermons || Jonah 2 || One Message, One Mission || Matthew Campbell

Jonah 2: One Message, One Mission

On Sunday, 16th February 2025, Matthew Campbell, a student at CITI preparing for ministry, preached from Jonah 2, bringing us a powerful message on God’s sovereignty and grace. His sermon focused on a simple yet profound truth: "Salvation comes from the Lord."

Jonah’s Desperate Prayer

The passage opens with Jonah crying out to God from the belly of the great fish. His distress is evident—cast into the sea because of his disobedience, Jonah was sinking both physically and spiritually. Yet in the midst of his desperation, he turned to God in prayer.

Matthew highlighted how Jonah’s prayer mirrors the psalms—filled with honesty, repentance, and thanksgiving. Even though Jonah had run from God’s calling, God had not abandoned him. Instead, in His mercy, He appointed a great fish to rescue Jonah at just the right time. This is a striking image of God's sovereign grace, showing that even in our rebellion, He is at work to bring us back to Himself.

Salvation is God's Work

Jonah 2:9 contains the key statement: "Salvation comes from the Lord." This verse encapsulates the entire message of the gospel. Salvation is not something we achieve by our own efforts; it is entirely the work of God. Jonah was helpless in the depths of the sea, just as we are helpless in our sin. But God, in His mercy, provides a way of rescue.

Matthew challenged us to reflect on our own lives. Like Jonah, we can often resist God's call, preferring our own way over His. Yet, as Jonah discovered, running from God leads only to deeper distress. True peace and salvation come when we surrender to Him.

Pointing to Jesus

Jonah’s experience in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights foreshadows Jesus' death and resurrection. In Matthew 12:40, Jesus Himself draws this connection, declaring that just as Jonah was in the fish, so He would be in the heart of the earth before rising again.

Matthew reminded us that the gospel is not merely a message of self-improvement but of complete transformation. Just as Jonah was given a second chance to fulfil God’s mission, so too are we called to respond to God's grace and proclaim His salvation to those around us.

One Message, One Mission

As Jonah was sent to Nineveh to preach repentance, we too are sent into our communities with the good news of Jesus Christ. Matthew left us with this challenge: Are we willing to obey God's call, or are we still running? Do we trust in God's salvation, or are we clinging to worthless idols?

We encourage you to listen to the full sermon and reflect on what God may be saying to you today.

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