For over thirty years now God has given me the unbelievable opportunity to minister by radio and encourage you to believe that God’s Word is relevant to every need of your life. Quite frankly, no one is more surprised than I am to discover that our programs are now broadcast on over 400 stations and outlets across the nation and internationally. I never ever would have guessed that God could or would allow me such privileges.
You see, I really blew it big time. After being raised in a wonderful Christian home and accepting Jesus into my life at an early age, after a Christian education and good churches all my life, after much Bible teaching and knowledge, I chose to put God on the back seat of my life and do my own thing, as we say. And for ten long years I walked away from my commitment to the Lord and lived a life that brought no glory to God and damaged my testimony for Jesus.
So, it should remind you that we serve the God of second chances. Sometimes I think maybe that’s one major reason God has chosen to bless me with this ministry—to demonstrate that he is this gracious God of second chances.
I am living proof that your life can be meaningful, exciting, and fulfilling, even though I made a thorough mess for a long time. God has miraculously salvaged me.
I want to encourage you to know that you serve the God of second chances. The Bible gives many stories of people who, like me, needed a second chance and God gave it to them. Let’s take a look at some of these people who were living in God’s plan “B” for their lives, for I believe it will teach us anew never to underestimate the power of the God we serve and what he is able to do with any mess we can make, and never to give up on anyone else. No one is beyond the power of the grace of God.
Remember Rahab? Most any time her name is mentioned, her infamous title accompanies it: Rahab the Harlot! Well, we really should never refer to her with that title any longer because God gave her a second chance and brought her out of that sinful life and used her mightily. You’ll find her story in Joshua 2.
Rahab went the way of a lot of women of her day. She had to earn a living and she chose the world’s oldest profession. We aren’t told too many details of her early life, but we know she lived this life of sin for many years. But through a series of events, she bargained for her life with the two spies from the people of God, hid them in her home in exchange for protection for her family, and survived the slaughter and destruction of her country.
Well, that’s a good enough story as it is, but it doesn’t end there. She marries one of those Israelites and becomes a foremother in the lineage of Jesus Christ. Her name is listed in Hebrews 11 as a great woman of faith. What a comeback! From a notorious harlot to the grandmother—many times removed—of Jesus Christ.
Maybe you have a past of which you are ashamed. Could it be that for many years you lived a life of sin and you feel dirty and tainted as a result? If so, I want you to think about Rahab and remember that God gives second chances to people with sordid pasts.
You see, the enemy will try to hinder you and handicap you because of your past. He would have preferred that you never find forgiveness for that sin, but since you’ve done that already, at least he hopes to keep you mired in guilt and rotten memories.
But dear friend, if you’ve asked God to forgive you, that past is behind you, he remembers it no more, and he wants you to go forward, free from guilt, with a new slate and a second chance. He’s the God of second chances; he’s just as willing to give you a second chance as he was with Rahab—and with me. Let God take the guilt of your past, put it under his precious blood, and set you free to see what he can do with you. It’s never too late, and nothing is too hard for the Lord.
One of my favorite people in the Bible is Peter. You know why? Because in spite of messing up several key times in his life, he made a wonderful comeback and God used him mightily. Peter also encourages me to know that we serve the God of second chances.
You may be thinking that it’s too late for you; you’ve made one mistake too many. Perhaps you think that God is just fed up with you and has put you on the shelf. Well, think of Peter.
He was always making a big splash about his commitment to the Lord. I’ll follow you anywhere; I’ll never forsake you; I’ll never deny you; I’ll even die for you. Those are the kind of bold public statements he made to Jesus. But let me remind you of his failures:
- He was rebuked by Jesus as a tool of Satan:” Get thee behind me, Satan,” Jesus said to him when he offered Jesus bad advice.
- He was going to build tabernacles to commemorate the transfiguration, and God spoke from heaven and said “Please, Peter, be quiet and listen to Jesus.” Peter had a major problem with foot-in-mouth disease.
- He made a big splash by trying to walk on water and going under instead.
- He tried to cast out demons like Jesus did and failed.
- He went to sleep when he should have been praying, even on the night of Jesus’ betrayal.
- But worse than all those—much worse—he openly denied his Lord three times while Jesus was going through the humiliating ordeal of a mock trial. When he should have stood up and been counted, he turned coat and fled.
Why would Jesus choose Peter to be a disciple? He blew it time and time again. Yet this braggadocios bombastic big mouth became one of the greatest spokesmen for Jesus and the early church. Jesus gave him many second chances.
Have you been talking the talk but not walking the walk? I want you to know that God is waiting to give you a second chance—again. Maybe you’re thinking of how you blew your testimony on your job recently and you figure there’s no way to recover. God has a second chance for you. You can’t mess up so badly that God can’t salvage you.
Don’t underestimate the power of the God of second chances. Remember Peter, and ask God to do for you what he did for him. He’s the same God and he loves you as much as he loves Peter. Go for it!
The book of Hosea is all about second chances. God instructs Hosea to marry an unworthy adulterous wife and to give her many second chances. His purpose was to show how Jesus would be sent to the people of Israel and how God would give them many second chances to accept his Messiah. If you want to see second chances in action, read Hosea.
Think of Abraham, that great man of faith. Even he needed second chances, because more than once his faith failed him and he lied about Sarah his wife in order to save his own neck. Yet God gave him a second chance and established his covenant with him.
Then there’s Jacob. He and his mother, Rebekah, were deceitful and Jacob lied to his father in order to get the blessing. Yet God salvaged Jacob and the covenant was passed on and continued through him.
David and Bathsheba committed adultery and David had Uriah murdered. Yet through their lineage came Jesus Christ. God gave them a second chance.
The list goes on and on right up to today, because quite honestly, friends, all of us have to have second chances. Every one of us has blown it in some way or another, and if we didn’t have a God of second chances, we’d all be doomed. How many times have you asked God to forgive you for the same sin? Maybe you even wonder if he will forgive you again, but let me assure you, he will. He knows our frame and remembers that we are dust, and so he gives us many second chances.
That, of course, does not mean that we will not have to suffer the consequences of our sin. Sin always brings its aftermath and God doesn’t always deliver us from that. But he does deliver us from guilt and he does allow us to start over again with a clean slate and a second chance.
While we should never be pleased that we need a second chance, it is so wonderful to know that our God doesn’t give up on us. Remember that today. Trust God for the second chance that you need. God extends his grace to all of us again and again and gives us second chances. Oh, am I thankful for that, because I so often need a second chance, how about you?
But you know, sometimes we are very reluctant to give others a second chance, even though we’ve received them from God. Jesus told the parable of the unmerciful servant, who asked the king to forgive him for the ten thousand talents he owed. He could never pay that huge debt, so in marvelous grace; the king agrees to forgive the debt—gives him a second chance. And what does he do? He turns around and demands that a small debt owed to him be paid immediately, and when his fellow servant can’t come up with the money right away, he has him thrown into prison.
Jesus was well aware of our tendency to accept his grace and take all the second chances we can get for ourselves, but to be very stingy in the way we deal with others. Twila Paris sings a song that goes “He’ll never give up on you, and neither will I, neither will I.” She reaffirms in those lyrics that even though her friend has failed again, she’s not going to stop believing and hoping that she will accept God’s second chance for her.
Who have you given up on? Is there someone you’ve been tough on, when God wants you to give them a second chance and simply return some of the grace that has been extended to you? In this parable of the unmerciful servant found in Matthew 18, Jesus teaches us that if we aren’t willing to give others a second chance and be merciful to them as he has been to us, then he will withdraw from us the grace and second chance that we so desire and need. Read that story again. It’s a powerful challenge to be a forgiving and merciful person.
Being merciful means you forgive someone a debt they truly owe. They deserve to pay the debt, but you let them off the hook. Have you done that lately, or have you been sticking it to someone, judging them for their failures and refusing to let them up off the floor? If you and I want to know God’s blessing in our lives, we must give others a second chance.
Well, I hope you’ll live in the glory of the truth that we have a God of second chances, because if you don’t need a second chance right now, you probably will sooner or later. And I trust you’ll be willing to give others that same second chance. Remember, love suffers long; it keeps no records of the wrong done to it; love always hopes and always gives second chances.