Grace Is Hard

Grace is Hard

New Year’s Sermon 2020

Intro –

As we start the new year, we want to spend a few minutes today charting a course that we want to define this year for Broadway and for our own lives. A year that is focused on those who are far from God. Those who do not know Jesus. To be people, and to be a church, that shares our faith and intentionally interacts with the lost. To be people of grace.

The heart of our nation was turned to New York and White Settlement, TX this week as we endured yet another horrific shooting in settings meant for religious worship. When something like this happens, there are so many voices that rise up…news correspondents, bloggers, political activists on both sides of the gun rights issue, politicians (especially as we begin an election cycle). Everyone has opinions and share them around the world. But the loudest voices tend to come from the friends and family of the victims.

One of the Elders at the West Freeway Church of Christ in TX said this in a prayer this past Monday, “Father, we even grieve the soul of the one who wronged us.” Much like 2015 in Charleston, SC after a gunman opened fire at the Bible study on a Wednesday night, killing 9 people. A family member of one of the victims said this: “I forgive you. You took something very precious away from me. I will never get to talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again, but I forgive you, and have mercy on your soul… we would like you to take this opportunity to repent. Repent. Confess. Give your life to the one who matters most: Christ. So that He can change you and change your ways, so no matter what happens to you, you’ll be okay.”

Grace is beautiful. Grace is uncommon. Grace is hard.

review of Jonah’s story - there Jonah stood on the edge of the city, watching 120,000 repent before God. Not that long before God had called him to go to Nineveh, one of the nastiest, move vile cities in the world. Jonah does an about face and heads the other direction. Jonah wants nothing to do with that. He hops on a boat to Tarshish, exactly opposite of the way to Ninevah. But God whips up a storm and the boat is going to sink. The crew wakes Jonah up, the row and row, but it’s not helping. They figure out Jonah is the one to blame, as Jonah’s God is the one bringing the storm. So off Jonah goes, into the roaring sea. But God was gracious and rescued him when a huge fish swallows him. Might not have been what Jonah was hoping for, might not have been a luxury yacht, but alive is alive. In that smelly, nasty stomach, Jonah changes his tune. He sees his disobedience and vows to do what God says. After 3 days, he gets hurled (literally) onto the beach. Immediately heads to Ninevah and preaches the message that God’s judgment and wrath are coming upon Ninevah. And it works. They repent. They recognize their sin, their offense toward God and they change their ways.

3:10 - “When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.”

TS - yes! It worked. They repented. Now God can bless, not curse. Build up, not destroy. Boy, don’t you imagine Jonah is thrilled. He’s been greatly used by God. Job well done. He’s got to feel accomplished. Grateful to be used by God. Been on the front lines of ministry and watched God save thousands of people.

4:1 - “This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry.”

Change of plans? Meaning his plans were that he would preach and watch them arrogantly defy God and then he would get a front row seat to God destroying them. Justice served. He much preferred to be an agent of justice than an agent of grace. And to be honest, it’s much easier to dispense justice than it is to dispense grace.

4:1-3 - “This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the Lord about it: ‘Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.’”

Mild reaction on his part! I knew you’d do this. You and your stupid mercy, forgiving people. What are you thinking? You WANT to save people. Ridiculous. I’d rather be dead than watch them be forgiven.

Let’s talk about this. Let’s admit that grace is hard. Hard to give and hard to live with. Feels unfair, doesn’t it? It feels like if we show grace then we are condoning their actions, sweeping it away as if it didn’t happen. Like we are affirming their actions if we don’t point out all their mistakes. Like we need to take a stand to make sure everyone knows what is ok and what is not ok. People should get what they deserve.

4:4 - “The Lord replied, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about this?’”

That’s the key question. Is it right for you to be upset about this? Really?

Grace is hard. Jesus told a couple stories to prepare us to handle this.

STORY - Lost son

- “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’ His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

STORY - Workers in the Vineyard

- “When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’ He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’”

It’s unfair. I was here all along. I’ve served. I deserve to be here, they don’t.

God’s response is the same…should you be angry about this?

ILL - Aunt Paula - Grandpa - if he’s in heaven, I don’t want to go

What does God do next? Back to Jonah. God has just asked him…Is it right for you to be angry about this?

4:5-6 - “Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.”

4:7-8 - “But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. ‘Death is certainly better than living like this!’ he exclaimed.”

What is God doing? God is exposing Jonah’s lack of grace. His absence of compassion. His pride. His insistence on justice. In fact, that has been a theme throughout all of Jonah’s story. He likes justice.

-1:3 - Jonah goes the other way away from Ninevah. Why? Because they deserve God’s wrath and punishment. He doesn’t want to get in the way of that.

-1:12 - how can we stop the storm? Throw me into the sea. Why? Because that is justice. That’s what I deserve.

-4:1-3 - angry at their repentance. Calls out God for showing grace.

But God has been showing grace to him all the way.

-1:4 - God brings the storm to help get Jonah’s attention. Don’t run away.

-1:13 - pagan sailors who row harder to keep from having to throw Jonah into sea.

-1:17 - God arranged for the great fish to swallow/save him.

And now God is showing Jonah grace yet again. God gives the shady plant and takes it away. It is all grace because God is giving Jonah the lesson of his life.

4:9-10 - “Then God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?’ ‘Yes,’ Jonah retorted, ‘even angry enough to die!’ Then the Lord said, ‘You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly.’”

Angry about this plant, though you didn’t deserve the plant in the first place. You didn’t plant it. It was a gift. You have no right to it. Jonah…that’s grace. You didn’t earn it. You didn’t deserve it. You've been loved. You’ve been forgiven. It was a gift. So you don’t have rights to it. You don’t get to decide who receives it and who doesn’t.

4:11 - “But Ninevah has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

Odd, abrupt ending. It hurts to read. Why? Because it exposes us! When we find it hard to dispense and live with grace, we hear the whisper…Is it right for you to be angry about this? Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a city?

While grace is hard to give, it is harder to live with. Because now that person is forgiven. After all they’ve done. That’s just not right. Where is the justice?

So people may say the right grace words, but they don’t live in grace. Produces deep bitterness. But…is it right for you to feel that way? Shouldn’t you feel sorry for such a person/city?

Churches do this. They decided (not usually out loud) that they like justice. Focus on themselves instead of others. They articulate their stances on the issues to clearly show where they are right and everyone else is wrong. Why? Grace is hard. Grace is messy. And all these hard, messy people will show up. Don’t think I like that. So let’s just focus on my growth, not their grace. But…shouldn’t you feel sorry for such a city? Even as Christians start talking about grace, there are always those who cry “justice!.” “Yeah, but what about…” Let’s choose to not do that. By emphasizing grace, we do not diminish justice. We believe God will dispense ultimate justice when Jesus returns…”It is mine to avenge, says the Lord.” Let’s leave giving people what they deserve to God. And let’s hear his convicting question…”Shouldn’t you feel sorry for such a city?”

Change of viewpoint - what if we asked God to make us broken hearted that someone would be so thirsty for God/meaning/purpose/hope that they would do something like that. Since people are thirsty, as Philip Yancey says, the church should be place where grace is on tap. What if my life, your life, this church…was a place where the thirsty could find grace on tap?

Examples for Broadway –

-investment in technology to engage the digital front door

-web/app/streaming/podcast/blog

-training for personal evangelism

-huge emphasis on encouraging you to share your faith.

98% never share their faith with another person. That is our concern. Not what other churches are doing. We are not in competition with them. Not who is going where. Not asking Christian friends to start attending here instead of there. But focusing on the 30,000 in 10 miles of here who don’t go anywhere.

Here is the initiative…don’t focus on the huge overwhelming numbers. Focus on one. Pray for one [graphic] Who is the one person you can pray for, and ask God to give you the opportunity to share your faith with them? Some of you already have a face and name in your mind. Some of you need God to show you who that is. Pray for one.

TS - don’t know where it ended up for Jonah’s soul. But we do know where it can end up for yours.

Invitation -

- “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

Is that fair? Does that feel like justice? No, that is grace. It comes back to something the sailors in said. After Jonah offered to be thrown into the sea to stop the storm, the sailors rowed harder to keep from doing that. But the storm was too violent.

– “Don’t make us die for this man’s sins.”

Why? Because that wouldn’t be fair. Another person dying for your sins is not fair. It’s grace.