1. Nothing Happens By Chance Scripture
2. God Of Chance

God is a God of Second Chances. It is not our successes in life that make us who we are; but rather, our failures! Stewart March 2014 Updated April 2017. Jonah 2:10-3:3, “And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. The God of Another Chance (Sermon by Pastor David, Sept. God has been in the “another chance” business ever since. Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden. The Grace of God means that even when we blow it and do. Something stupid He gives us another chance! All the way through the Bible we see God giving second. We see in this scripture that our God is a God of second chances. Even when we sin against Him and refuse to follow His ways, He waits with open arms, ready to give us grace and mercy. He demonstrated it to the Jews during the Second Passover and once again when He gave us His son, Yeshua (Jesus).

When you read the title, you may have thought, You’re wrong—God is a god of second chances. There are many examples in the Bible of when God gave people second chances. If the Bible had a hall of shame, we would find many of the same names that we find in Hebrews 11 (often known the “hall of faith”).

Noah was found drunk by his sons; Abraham trafficked his wife, Sarah; Moses murdered an Egyptian; Rahab committed prostitution; and David hired someone for murder and committed adultery. Then there are those in the New Testament: Zaccheaus, the tax collector, who overtaxed people out of personal greed, yet was accepted by Jesus prior to his conversion; and Peter, who denied Christ three times.

Yet, in spite of their illegal and immoral behavior, God gave them a second chance. They were repentant and went on to be faithful servants of God. But is it really God giving them a second chance to make good choices, and if they mess up again, he is done with them? Or is it God’s grace being poured out in an attempt to restore their relationship with God and others?

Isn’t grace what differentiates the Christian faith from other religions which focus on moral behavior or good works? Tim Keller states,

Christ’s grace is not just a second chance. Christ’s grace is NOT one more chance to redeem yourself. It is not one more chance to be a good moral person. The grace of Jesus Christ is NOT to appear before us and say look at me I’m honest, I’m compassionate, I’m generous, I have a servant heart, live like me and you can redeem yourself. Jesus doesn’t come and say, look at me. Be as generous, caring and compassionate as me. If Jesus Christ came like that, if he came to be a model and example to us so we could redeem ourselves, he is an utter failure. I wish he’d never come. Because nobody can care like Jesus cared. And nobody can love like Jesus loved. And nobody can give like Jesus gave. If he is my model and he gives me one more chance, all he does is show me that I can never redeem myself. As a model he discourages me, he doesn’t encourage me. He devastates me, he demoralizes and demolishes me. And leaves me in the darkness.

It is not one more chance to be good. Jesus Christ came and died to pay the penalty of our failures and if we receive him, his record becomes our record. He doesn’t say one more chance to do good deeds, oh no, instead, he says, don’t you see, your doing will never get you there looking at me – I have done all the good deeds for you. I have lived the perfect life, I have died the perfect death. I put myself in your place, I took your penalty so that if you trust in me, and you lay your doing down, and you trust wholly in me, the Father will welcome you as complete in me. Lay your deadly doing down at his feet, stand in him alone, gloriously complete.[1]

Nothing Happens By Chance Scripture

Do we as Christians really understand the grace and mercy given to us? What is the church’s witness to the world on how we treat Christians who have committed immoral or illegal acts? Imagine if your greatest sin was made public and everywhere you went you had to reveal that mistake.

What if you were labeled by your sin—as a liar, adulterer, gossip, addict, failure, criminal, etc.? What if people whisper about you, “He or she is the one who…”? Is this the biblical response toward those who have been caught in sin?

Putting Our Focus on Redemption and Restoration

Let me focus on those who have committed an illegal act. People who society has given themselves permission to hate. Dominique DuBois Gilliard in Rethinking Incarceration points out that “Restorative justice must be the aim of God’s people. God’s intent to restore all things and all people must inform and transform our understanding and pursuit of justice” (p. 160).

Rather than continuing to support a retributive system which focuses on punishment, warehousing, and dehumanizing people, we need a justice system which focuses on accountability, redemption, and restoration.

Gilliard goes on to say later,

All too often, when we encounter the formerly incarcerated, we do not see them as brothers and sisters who reflect God’s image. We usually view them with suspicion and interact cautiously with them. Furthermore, when we go into prisons and detention centers we frequently do not believe that people behind bars are capable of returning as citizens who can make our neighborhoods better places. (p. 191)

We are happy they attend Bible study in prison, but we don’t want them living in our backyards or attending our churches.

Christians are different. The gospel revolutionizes our attitude toward those who harm. Not only do we treat others differently because of our own experience of God’s mercy and grace, but he has called us to be part of the restoration process.

Galatians 6:1 (The Message) states,

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed (oppressive weight of temptation and spiritual failure). Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.

Christopher Marshall declares that Paul’s words make it clear that

Christian justice focuses normatively on solidarity with sinners and their restoration, not on harsh punishment and rejection. Therefore, Scripture calls the church to actively engage in being involved in the muck and mire of communal transgressions, civic harms, and restoration of broken relationships (p. 161).

Who Will We Give Second Changes To?

In 2017, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution declaring April 'Second Chance Month,' a time to focus on giving those who have committed a crime, done their time, and have been released back into the community a second chance to be productive and contributing citizens. The 65 million Americans with a criminal record experience limited access to jobs, education, housing, and other things necessary for a full and productive life.

Over 48,000 collateral sanctions exist across the country not counting local laws enacted by municipalities. While some of these laws make sense and are in place for public safety purposes (e.g., not allowing those convicted of sex crimes against children to work in daycare centers, or those convicted of embezzlement not working in finance), over half of the restrictions are employment related. Yet, employment is one of the greatest predictors of a formerly incarcerated person becoming a successful and productive citizen.

The church should not be one of the barriers that stop formerly incarcerated people from flourishing. Instead, the church should be a place where broken people are welcomed and can receive healing. If we really believe in the transformation of the gospel—that any life can be saved and changed—we cannot say to someone, “You are not welcome here.”

May we be a people who welcome formerly incarcerated persons and be intentional to seek out those like Zacchaeus and Rahab in our communities.

[1] Tim Keller, Sermon

Karen Swanson, Ed.D., is the director of the Institute for Prison Ministries of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College.

Current Issue

GOD GIVES SECOND CHANCES

(PART 3)

INTRODUCTION:

ILLUSTRATION:

Maria and her daughter, Christina, livein a poor neighborhood on the skirts of a Brazilian village.

Maria’s husband had died when Christinawas an infant.The young mother,stubbornly refusing opportunities to remarry, got a job and set out to raiseher young daughter.Now, fifteen yearslater, the worst years were over.Though Maria’s salary as a maid afforded few luxuries, it was reliableand it did provide food and clothing.Now Christina was old enough to get a job to help out.

Some said Christina got her independencefrom her mother.She recoiled at thetraditional idea of marrying young and raising a family.

She spoke often of going to thecity.She dreamed of trading her dustyneighborhood for exciting avenues and city life.Just the thought of this horrified her mother.

Maria knew exactly what Christina woulddo, or would have to do for a living.That’s why her heart broke when she awoke one morning to find herdaughter’s bed empty.Maria knewimmediately where her daughter had gone.She also knew immediately what she must do to find her.

On her way to the bus stop, she entereda drugstore to get one last thing.Pictures.She sat in thephotograph booth, closed the curtain, and spent all she could on pictures of herself.

She knew Christina had no way of earningmoney.She also knew that her daughterwas too stubborn to give up.When pridemeets hunger, a human will do things that before were unthinkable.

It wasn’t too long before both themoney, and the pictures ran out, and Maria had to go home.

It was a few weeks later that youngChristina descended the hotel stairs.Her young face was tired.Herbrown eyes no longer danced with youth but spoke of pain and fear.

As Christina reached the bottom of thestairs, her eyes noticed a familiar face.She looked again, and there on the lobby mirror was a small picture ofher mother.Christina’s eyes burned andher throat tightened as she walked across the room and removed the smallphoto.Written on the back was thiscompelling invitation.“Whatever youhave done, whatever you have become, it doesn’t matter.

1.Haveyou ever done something in your past that you are ashamed of?

2.Haveyou ever felt that you have disappointed God to such an extent that He wouldnever love you again or accept you into heaven?

3.Wouldn’tit be nice if we could just erase certain parts of our lives that disappointedGod…

ILLUSTRATION:

As a child, I used to play with a toycalled an Etch-a-sketch.TheEtch-a-sketch was a little red and gray drawing board full of sand (or at leastsomething like sand).You twisted twoknobs on the bottom of the screen to draw a picture.If you messed up, all you had to do was shake the thing a coupleof times and you got a clean screen.You got a chance to start all over again.

4.Brethren, the goodnews is that it is possible for us to start all over again with God.

a.Wecan have all of our past sins erased.

b.Wecan have all of our evil thoughts eradicated.

c.Wecan have all of our disappointments with God exterminated.

THIS MORNING, I WILL PROVIDE SEVERALPOINTS ON HOW TO START ALL OVER WITH GOD.

I.IN ORDER TO START ALL OVER, WE MUST FIRSTREALIZE THE QUALITY OF GOD’S MERCY AND GRACE.

1.Afew years before I became a Christian, I distinctively remember a thought thatcrossed my mind.The thought wasthis:“Even if I became a Christian,God would never love me nor except me into heaven because of the past sins thatI had committed.”

2.Foryears, I looked at God as an unforgiving and unmerciful God who took pleasurein punishing people.

3.However,as I began reading the Bible, I discovered that God is exactly the opposite ofwhat I thought He was.God is not anunmerciful and unforgiving God, instead, He is a merciful and forgiving God whodoes not enjoy punishing us.

• The prophet Ezekiel put it this way in (Ezekiel 33:11) “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.”

ILLUSTRATION:

One night in 1935, Mayor LaGuardia ofNew York, showed up at a night court in the poorest ward of the city.

On this particular occasion, La Guardiadismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself.

So the judge out of his own pocket paidthe fine for her.He then finedeveryone in the courtroom 50 cents for living in a city “where a person has tosteal bread so that her grandchildren can eat.”The hat was passed around, and the woman left the courtroom withher fine paid and an additional $47.50 in her purse.

Solely out of the goodness of his heart,the Mayor of New York helped the woman who could not help herself.

4.Godis this kind of judge.He hasmercifully paid our penalty for sin and has given us the opportunity to startall over again.

5.Godis a merciful God.

• (Ephesians 2:4) tells us that God is “rich in mercy”

• (1 Peter 1:3) says that God has “great mercy.”

• In the 136th Psalm, 26 times it says, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

6.Kindnessand mercy are strong qualities of the nature of God.The Nave’s Topical Bible lists over 200 verses that describe themerciful nature of God.

ILLUSTRATION:

Long ago, a poor woman from the slums ofLondon was invited to go with a group of people for a vacation at theocean.She had never seen the oceanbefore, and when she saw it, she started crying.Those around her thought it strange that she would cry after suchan enjoyable holiday had been provided for her.

God Of Chance

Finally, one of them asked her why shewas crying.Pointing to the ocean, sheanswered, “This is the only thing I have ever seen that there was enough of.”

7.Listen,God has oceans of mercy and it will never run out.

8.Beforewe start all over again, and rededicate our lives to the Lord, we must realizeand accept the quality of God’s mercy.It will reach us if we want it.

II.SECOND, IN ORDER TO START ALL OVER, WEMUST UNDERSTAND THAT GOD IS WILLING TO GIVE US ANOTHER CHANCE.

1.During the past several weeks, we havebeen studying the book of Jonah.

2.As you recall, God wanted His prophetJonah to go and preach against the city of Nineveh.However, Jonah did not want to fulfill that mission so in orderto flee from the Lord, he boarded a ship and sailed for Tarshish.

3.Let us turn to (Jonah3:1-3) to find out what happened to Jonah next.

• “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.”

4.Although at one time Jonah had refused togo to Nineveh, God gave him another chance.For it says, “the word of the Lord came to Jonah asecond time.”Even though Jonah at first disappointed God, he was still given anotherchance.

5.God gives second chances!

ILLUSTRATION:

Thomas A. Edison was working on a crazycontraption called a “light bulb” and it took a whole team of men 24 straighthours to put just one together.Thestory goes that when Edison was finished with one light bulb, he gave it to ayoung boy helper, who nervously carried it up the stairs.

You probably guessed what happened bynow; that the poor young fellow dropped the bulb at the top of the stairs.

6.No matter what we have done in our past,God will accept us and give us another chance.

7.God is not interested in what we oncewere; instead, He is interested in what we can become.

8.Many people in the Bible overcame a turbulentpast, and became great and faithful servants of the Lord.

a.Abraham,the father of the Hebrew nation, at one time worshipped other gods (Joshua24:2).

b.David,the third King of Israel, although he committed adultery, became a man afterGod’s own heart.

c.Paul,the great apostle of Jesus Christ, at one time had Christians arrested andkilled.

9.Although at one time these men livedungodly lives, they were given another chance and eventually they became greatservants of the Lord, and so can we.

10.Wemust forget our past failures and focus on our future successes.

11.Paulput it this way in (Phil. 3:13-14)“But one thing I do:forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on towardthe goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in ChristJesus.”

ILLUSTRATION:

One day the police stopped a teen-agegirl in a city in Idaho, after complaints that a car had been seen going aroundher neighborhood in reverse for some time.

The girl told police that her parentshad let her use the car, but she had put too much mileage on it.

CONCLUSION:

1.My friends, this morning, God is givingyou another chance to get your life right with Him.You can unwind all the sinful mileage that you have accumulatedover the years.Today, you can start afresh new relationship with the Lord.

2.How do you start all over with God?

3.If you are not a Christian, God wants youto do five things in order to get your life right with Him.

a.First,God wants you to believe in Him and in His Son Jesus Christ.

• (Heb. 11:6)“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

b.Second,God wants you repent of your sins.

• (Acts 17:30)“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.”

c.Third,God wants you to confess faith in Jesus Christ.

• (Mt. 10:32)“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

d.Fourth,God wants you to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.

• (Mk. 16:16)Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.'

e.Fifth,God wants you to live a faithful and obedient live to the end.

• (Rev. 2:10)“Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

4.If you obey these biblical principles,this morning you can receive salvation and start a new life serving theLord.All the sins you have evercommitted will be wiped away.God willremember them no more.

5.If you are already a Christian, but yetyou have wandered away from God, then God wants you to do two things in orderto get right with Him.

a.Godwants you to repent and confess your sins to Him.

• (1 John 1:9)“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

6.Right now, the Lord has His arms wide openjust waiting for you to respond.SinceHe is such a loving and merciful God, He is willing to give you another chanceto get your life right with Him.

7.In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, do youremember what the Father’s reaction was when his son returned to him?

• “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Lk. 15:20).

8.God is standing at this altar thismorning, with His arms wide open, hoping and praying that you will come to Him.

9.I am sure that the Devil has planted thisthought in your mind: 'You do not have to respond this morning, for youwill have plenty of time down the road to give your life to God.'

10.Thetruth is, since life is so unpredictable, you may never have another chance toget right with God.

11.Atthe very beginning of this lesson, I told you the story about Christina whowandered away from her home and became a prostitute.After she saw her mother’s note, she went back home.

12.God’smessage to you this morning is the same as Christina’s mothers message to herdaughter.

“Whatever you have done, whatever youhave become, it doesn’t matter.Pleasecome home.”

13.Comehome to the Lord right now as we stand and sing.