This week during Youth Takeover, we were blessed to have guest speaker Austin Foss share a powerful sermon on grace, and when grace has a limit in our lives. Grace is freely given, not earned, yet it is often withheld when hurt, pride, or offense take over. Jonah reminds us that we have received mercy first and are called to extend that same grace to others. True surrender means letting go of our emotions, trusting God’s purpose, and choosing to serve rather than live for ourselves.
Jonah 1:1–2 (ESV)
“Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.’”
Jonah 1:17 (ESV)
“And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”
Jonah 3:1–5 (ESV)
“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 began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God.”
Jonah 4:1–4 (ESV)
“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 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. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ And the LORD said, ‘Do you do well to be angry?’”
Jonah 4:10–11 (ESV)
“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. 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?’”
Withholding Grace is Selfish
Proverbs 3:27 reminds us that we shouldn’t withhold good when it is within our power to give it. We have a responsibility to pass on God’s grace, because what we withhold today may impact the spiritual health of those who come after us.
What causes us to withhold grace?
- Pride – “I would never do what they did. They don’t deserve forgiveness.”
- Entitlement – “Why should I forgive them? They owe me an apology. Or I won’t forgive until they apologize first.”
- Anger/Offense – “They need to pay for what they’ve done. Vengeance should be mine.”
- Self-pity – “You don’t understand what they did to me. No one’s taught me that, no one’s given me that.”
While we do not justify the sins committed against us , we are called to forgive those who hurt us. We also have a responsibility to repent when we choose not to forgive.
Mark 11:25 (ESV)
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
1 John 3:15 (ESV)
“Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
Forgiving is hard
Unforgiveness can take root like a disease in the heart, spreading beyond one person and creating secondhand offense. The enemy desires division, but forgiveness protects unity and reflects the heart of Christ.
Romans 12:14 (ESV)
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”
We Were Given Grace First
Romans 8:32 (ESV)
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
God freely gave His Son and the grace we could never earn. Because we have received His grace, we are called to extend it to others.
Colossians 2:14 (ESV)
“by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”
Giving Grace to Ourselves
We desperately need a Savior, yet God freely gives us grace. Jesus paid our debt in full, so the mercy we receive should be extended to others.
Solution: Truth
God calls us His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus with purpose, and His beloved children. We are chosen by Him to bear fruit, and because God freely gives grace, that same grace should be extended to ourselves and others.
Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
1 John 3:1 (ESV)
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”
John 15:16 (ESV)
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.”
It’s Not About Me
God’s work will be accomplished with or without us, but He invites us to participate. Like Jonah, we are called to set aside ourselves, be willing vessels, and serve His purpose.
Colossians 1:16 (ESV)
“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”
2 Corinthians 5:14–15 (ESV)
“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”
Surrender My Emotions
God’s work does not depend on us, but He invites us to serve His purpose as willing vessels.
Discussion Questions:
- What makes it difficult to extend grace to someone who has hurt or offended you, and what might God be asking you to surrender?
- Jonah received God’s mercy but struggled to see Nineveh receive it. Where might you be tempted to think someone is less deserving of grace than you are?
- If God’s work doesn’t depend on us, but He invites us to participate, what could it look like to serve God’s purpose instead of letting personal emotions get in the way?
Application Questions:
- Is there someone you’re withholding grace or forgiveness from? What would choosing forgiveness look like this week?
- Where might pride, hurt, or offense be keeping you focused on yourself instead of God’s purpose? What is one step you can take to surrender that to God?