For a Second Time

Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth.
Jonah 3:1–3
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For a Second Time
God had a plan for Jonah. He had a message to be preached and given. He gives it again to Jonah and sends him again to Nineveh. The Word of the Lord is given to Jonah. This Word is performative and active. You know it to be sharper than any two-edged sword. It divides soul and spirit. It exposes our hearts, kills, condemns, lays waste, resurrects, guards, and protects. The Lord has the power to kill and to make alive again. He has the power to cut and to heal. He sends his Word to Nineveh to cause hearts to repent and to turn the people from their sin to the living God. The task is huge. His sermon will be three days long because the walk from one end of the city to the other is three days. His sermon will be concise, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” This sermon is performative, and the people of that great city believe God and repent. The Word of the Lord comes to you, too. The preaching long—it will last your whole life, the preaching concise—it cuts to the heart. The sermon is performative. The Spirit creates faith and maintains it by his work in the midst of you. God has a plan for you. He sends his Word as your comfort and peace!