Jonah 3

Jonah 3 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Jonah's sermon is not exactly a well-crafted, carefully polished gem of a sermon.  It's not taught in preaching classes so we can learn to emulate it.  It's short and to the point, but lacks any evidence or reasons to believe it.  Jonah says seven words.
  And yet, after those 7 words, an entire city, from the king to the beasts, repents.  Sackcloth and ash become the decorations of choice, in hopes that God may relent from this punishment.  The people are convicted to the heart.
  What this tells me is that the Holy Spirit was already active in the hearts and minds of the people of Nineveh.  God had been at work, preparing their hearts for a message of repentance, and when it came the floodgates were opened.  Nineveh may not have been aware of what God was doing, but God was at work.
  The message for us is that when we go forth into the world and engage as disciples, we need to trust that God is at work in the hearts and minds of people around us.  Communicating the Good News doesn't mean we have to be perfect, we just have to be available.  God is already at work in the people around us--he just wants to use us to continue to deliver the message of God's love and grace.