God’s Grace In Salvation
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Today’s the last week in our series called Runaways: God’s grace in rebellion, it’s been a 5 week study on a book of the bible called Jonah, and one of the things we’ve seen in the book of Jonah is God’s grace being poured out on numerous times on rebellious Jonah. All throughout the book of Jonah we’ve seen God’s grace being poured out on those who are rebellious, and grace is one of those things we love talking about. It’s one of those things even Non-Christians don’t have issues with us talking about. Non-Christians tend to have issues with us talking about God’s wrath, but not God’s grace. Both Christians and Non-Christians are okay with talking about grace, we’re even okay with receiving grace, but when it comes to giving grace to others, that’s when there’s a problem, that’s when all of us tend to be hypocrites. We love talking about grace, love receiving grace, but as soon as somebody wrongs us we stonewall, hold grudges, retaliate with the very wrath we hate, instead of the very grace we love. We hate God’s wrath, but are okay with pouring out our wrath. We love God’s grace, but hate pouring out our grace. Both Christians and Non-Christians are hypocrites of grace, and in today’s text we’re gonna see Jonah being a hypocrite of grace too. We’ll see him being okay with receiving grace, but not giving grace. So as we study today’s text don’t think of yourself as being better than Jonah, instead think of yourself as being a hypocrite of grace like Jonah. Let’s turn to Jonah 4:1-11 and get into it. The title of today’s message is Grace For The Undeserving. Here’s the big idea. Those who aren’t willing to give grace, have forgotten their own need for grace. We’re all undeserving of grace, but God’s willing to give grace to the undeserving.
Context:
For the sake of time I’ll keep the context short. In ch.1 God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach against the brutal Ninevites, but Jonah hates the Ninveites so much, that he goes in the complete opposite direction of Nineveh, roughly 2000 miles west of Nineveh to a place called Tarshish. But God sends a storm to bust up the ship Jonah’s sailing on, Jonah gets thrown into the sea, and in ch. 2 he praises God for saving his life. Then in ch. 3 he finally preaches against the Ninevites like God wanted, the Ninevites repent, turn to God, and God spares their lives. But Jonah gets angry over God giving them grace, and here’s how Jonah responds.
The Word:
Jonah 4:1-11 states this, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.” The original Hebrew uses much stronger language saying, “He was very angry.” Another translation states, “He was furious! He lost his temper, and yelled at God!” And for most of us, if not all of us, this is exactly what our relationship with God is like. It’s a bipolar relationship with God where we’ll praise God when He gives us what we want, but we’ll get angry with God when He doesn’t. It’s a bipolar relationship where one minute we’ll run from God out of anger like Jonah in ch.1, the next we’ll praise God like Jonah in ch.2, then it’s back to being angry again like Jonah ch. 4, and here’s my question. Which chapter are you living in right now?..Which chapter are you living in right now?..Are you in Jonah ch. 2 where you’re praising God, or are you in ch. 1 and 4 where you’re angry with God over God not giving you what you want?.. Here’s the good news, God’s love for His children is constant, meaning His love for you isn’t bipolar, even when your devotion to Him is...God’s love for you isn’t bipolar, even when your devotion to Him is...God doesn’t love you one minute then hate you the next, He loves you constantly and is always willing to pour out His grace, even when you’re angry and undeserving like Jonah.
Again vs. 1, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord...” That’s a good thing. It’s a good thing he’s praying to the Lord about his anger. He’s doing what he needs to do when he’s angry which is talk to the Lord. A lot of us don’t do that, don’t run to God with our anger, instead we run from God out of anger. But instead of running from God we should run to God with our anger like Jonah’s doing here in ch. 4. Jonah’s praying to the Lord about his anger which is a good thing, but he needs to humble himself and remember who he’s talking to, or else God will humble him, which God does later in the text. Sometimes it takes us praying an angry prayer for God to work on our hearts and bring us to humility, but regardless God’s big enough to handle your angry prayers, so let Him hear it, respectfully.
Again vs. 2, “And he prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O 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 gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” There’s the reason Jonah’s so angry with God, it’s because God was gracious and merciful to Jonah’s enemies, the Ninevites. He’s angry over God’s grace and mercy, but isn’t this exactly what we hope to be true about God? Isn’t this exactly what both Christians and Non-Christians hope to be true about God? I mean everybody in every religion hopes their god’s gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, relenting from disaster, and Jonah’s angry reaction to God tells us those things are true about the God of Christianity. It’s the very reason he’s angry. He’s angry because he knew those things were true about God. He says “I knew 100% without a doubt that God’s so gracious and merciful He’d forgive the Ninevites if they repented and turned to God,” which is exactly what happens in ch.3. God has grace and mercy on the Ninevites, and Jonah’s angry reaction tells us the God of Christianity really is that gracious and merciful to anyone who’s willing to repent and turn to Him.
Psalm 51:17, “A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
Psalm 116:5, “Gracious is the Lord and righteous; our God is merciful.”
Psalm 145:8, “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.”
All these things are true about the God of Christianity, and it’s all great news for us because it means no matter who you are, what you’ve done, or how far you’ve strayed, the God of Christianity’s always willing to forgive you of your sins when you repent and turn to Him, just like He did for the Ninevites. It’s the very reason Jonah’s angry with God, and he’s so angry over God’s grace and mercy, that he’d rather die than see the Ninevites forgiven. Listen to vs. 3.
Vs. 3, “Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’” How crazy is that? Jonah hates the Ninevites so much he’d rather die than see them forgiven. It’s because he’s a hypocrite of grace. I mean he’s received so much grace, grace in the storm, in the pit, in the belly of the fish, in being put on dry land so he didn’t die at sea. God’s grace has saved him physically from drowning at sea, and spiritually from drowning in his sinful rebellion against God. In fact he’s received so much grace that it caused him to cry out in ch. 2, “Salvation belongs to the Lord!” Yet he’s still being a hypocrite of grace preferring death over seeing the Ninevites forgiven. Jonah’s forgotten how much grace he’s received, and how much grace he still needs. Those who aren’t willing to give grace, have forgotten their own need for grace. We’re all undeserving of grace, but God’s willing to give grace to the undeserving.
Again vs. 3, “Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ 4 And the Lord said, ‘Do you do well to be angry?’” Notice God asks Jonah a question. Jonah’s throwing a tantrum like a kid in a grocery store, but like a loving, patient, parent God asks, “What’s wrong Jonah? Do you really have a right to be this angry? We need to talk about your anger, we need to talk about your heart.” Like a loving, patient, parent God’s willing to dialogue with Jonah in his tantrum, and God’s willing to dialogue with you in your tantrums. But Jonah doesn’t want to dialogue anymore, so he ignores God and leaves the city.
Vs. 5, “Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.” So Jonah basically finds a spot on a hill overlooking Nineveh, he makes a booth, makes a tent, and then pulls out his UCF camping chair, starts tailgating by himself, hoping to see the 4th of July happen over Nineveh. He’s hoping their repentance isn’t real, and that God will destroy them. That’s the heart of Jonah. He’s a recipient of grace, but he has a heart of wrath...and like I said earlier we need to be careful not to think this isn’t us because it is. We’re recipients of grace, but we have our heart of wrath moments too. If somebody wrongs you or disrespects you, suddenly you’re ready to go 4th of July on them. Some of you go for the box of snap pops, some of you go for mortars, regardless all of us have our 4th of July moments where instead of giving grace to those who wrong us, we give wrath. We’re recipients of grace, but have heart of wrath moments too, and usually the deeper the wound, the deeper the wrath you have against the person.
I was convicted of this several years ago when I was reading the book of Jonah. I had a lot of bitterness and anger towards someone who wronged me, and it was in ch. 4 that I felt the Lord dialoguing with me saying, “Hey Louie, would you be okay if that person who wronged you repented and I prospered them more than you?” You know what I said? “Man heck no! That person wronged me. You need to drop some mortars on that mug!” Then God was like, “You’re Jonah...Louie you’re Jonah...I should’ve mortared you, but instead I forgave you and saved you. So stop acting like Jonah, and start forgiving like me,” and I did. I finally forgave the person, but it took God reminding me I was Jonah, it took God reminding me of my own depravity and need for grace. Whenever you’re struggling with having a heart of grace for somebody who wronged you, look at your own depravity and need for grace. If you take a serious look at your own depravity and need for grace, your heart can change from a heart of wrath to a heart of grace. But if you don’t look at your own depravity and need for grace, it’ll be a spark that lights the fuse to a heart of wrath. Those who aren’t willing to give grace, have forgotten their own need for grace. We’re all undeserving of grace, but God’s willing to give grace to the undeserving.
Vs. 6, “Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’” Now scholars believe the plant was possibly a “palmchrist,” which is a type of plant that grows quickly, but withers quickly if it’s roots get damaged by something like a worm. But regardless of the type of plant, God’s teaching Jonah a lesson in all this which is that God’s the one in control not Jonah. The word “appointed” appears 3 times in the text, 4 times in the entire book of Jonah, and God’s showing Jonah He’s the one in control not Jonah. He’s doing this to dialogue with Jonah, and get to Jonah’s heart.
Vs. 9, “But God said to Jonah, ‘Do you do well to be angry for the plant?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.’” So again Jonah’s acting like a little bratty kid. God’s like, “Hey Jonah did you like the plant? I gave it to you as an act of grace for comfort.” Jonah’s like, “Yeah I really liked the plant. It’s hotter than Floridian hot and the plant gave me shade, why’d you have to go kill it you plant killer?” Jonah’s back to being angry again, but again God asks him if he has a right to be angry, and personally I’d be angry too if I were Jonah. Jonah’s feeling what we feel whenever God doesn’t give us what we want or takes away a thing of comfort. But we need to remember God’s love is constant, it isn’t bipolar, which means every act and decision He makes for you is loving, including when He doesn’t give us what we want or He takes away things of comfort. We can’t always see it when we’re in it just like Jonah couldn’t see it when he was in the storm, the pit, the fish, the land, the plant, the worm, or the wind. But God’s love and grace was working on Jonah’s heart the entire time through it all, just like God’s love and grace is working on your heart through it all. God’s grace is even working on Jonah’s heart through the giving and taking away of the plant, which we’ll see next.
Vs. 10, “And the Lord said, ‘You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?’” That’s it, that’s the end of the book, and what God’s saying is, “Jonah you care more about a plant perishing than you do people perishing. You pity the plant more than people. But shouldn’t I pity the people of Nineveh over a plant?” It’s such a genius way to end the book of Jonah because the question God’s asking Jonah, is really a question directed at the readers of Jonah, it’s really a question directed at us. The question God’s asking is, “Do you care?..Do you care more about a perishing plant over perishing people in Orlando? Do you care more about your perishing materialistic comforts over perishing people in Orlando?” God’s asking you, me, the people of City Awakening, do you have a heart like God does for the people in Orlando, or are you heartless like Jonah was to the people of Nineveh? Do...you...even...care?..If you care, then show it. Don’t just say it like Jonah did when he said salvation belongs to the Lord, instead show it by living out our code to love the few so we can love the many. Show it by loving a few people so well they can’t ignore the love of Jesus for their lives. Show it by praying for them weekly, serving them, inviting them to church, thinking of ways you can show them love like Jesus showed you love. The point is don’t be a hypocrite of grace like Jonah, be a giver of grace like Jesus. When Jesus came into this world to live, die, and rise again for our sins, he came with a very different heart than the heart of Jonah. Jonah had a heart of anger, but Jesus had a heart of love. Jonah had a heart of wrath, but Jesus had a heart of grace. Jonah had a heart that wanted his enemies destroyed, but Jesus had a heart that wanted his enemies forgiven and he died on the cross to prove it. Jesus is the greater Jonah, and he has a much greater heart than the heart of Jonah. It’s a heart that’s very gracious, merciful, slow to anger, steadfast in love, willing to relent, willing to listen to your angry prayers, and willing to give grace to the undeserving. Jesus offers us that grace, but the question is will you receive it, and will you share it with the people in Orlando? The question is do you care? Do...you...care?
The Big Idea:
Let’s get to the big idea. Here’s the big idea. Those who aren’t willing to give grace, have forgotten their own need for grace. We’re all undeserving of grace, but God’s willing to give grace to the undeserving...God’s willing to give grace to the undeserving...So what’s the verdict? Do you think Jonah changed?..Do you think he finally learned his lesson, do you think God’s grace finally changed his heart from a heart of wrath, to a heart of grace for the Ninevites?..Yes it did change. Yes Jonah’s heart finally did change towards the Ninevites, and here’s how we know. He’s the one telling the story...Jonah’s the one telling the story...I mean how else would we know all these things about Jonah? How else would we know what Jonah was saying, doing, thinking, praying in the pit, in the belly of the fish, and the angry prayers he was praying on the hillside? The only way we know those things is if Jonah’s the one telling us, and the reason he tells us his story isn’t for us to follow his example, it’s to point us to a God to be worshiped, it’s to point us to the God who changed his heart and can change yours.
Look what Jonah’s saying in all of this is, “If God can forgive me of my sins, He can forgive you of your sins. If God can change my heart and the hearts of the people in the great city of Nineveh, He can change your heart and the hearts of the people in the great city of Orlando.” The reason Jonah’s telling us this story is because he wants us to have a loving, lasting, relationship with the great God of grace who saved and changed his heart, and just like God didn’t remove His grace from Jonah, God doesn’t remove His grace from you. Just like God wasn’t finished with Jonah, God’s not finished with you. Just like God had a message and mission for Jonah, God has a message and mission for you. The message is to repent of your sins and submit your life to Jesus, because he’s a God that loves, saves, redeems, restores, changes hearts, gives grace to the undeserving, and the mission is to spread that message of grace with the people in the great city of Orlando. The story of Jonah ends here, but the message and mission of God’s grace continues on through you. The question is, do...you...care?..Do you care?...If you care, then show it. Show it by giving your life to Jesus, and living your life on mission for Jesus. Show it by worshiping Jesus, and leading others into the worship of Jesus. City Awakening let’s stand and worship Jesus for his amazing grace, then let’s go and live our lives in ways that help spread that message of grace to the people in the great city of Orlando.
