A Second Chance

A second chance

Mark 16: 7

But go, tell His disciples¡Xand Peter¡Xthat He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.¡¨

Because of the resurrection:

1. A second chance is possible.

2. A second chance is freeing.

3. A second chance is empowering.

Introduction:

When you were growing up, do you remember the phrase "Do-Over" that was often used during playtime? It would happen during a game of kick ball. The kicker would wallop the ball into the air over toward the trees. The ball would then bounce it way down through the branch and then get stuck. The ball would now be out-of-play and the game would have to stop until the ball was freed. Instead of penalizing the defensive team by allowing the kicker to run the bases and to insure a fair game, the phrase is yelled out, "Do-Over." At that, the kicker would be allowed the chance to kick over. It was always nice to have a "do-over," a second chance.

Sometimes in life, we wish we could yell out "Do-Over" and then do something in life a different way.

> Like the family man who loves his wife and children, who is under tremendous stress at work, at a moment of weakness commits adultery with a co-worker and destroys his marriage and looses his children. He would want to yell out "Do-Over!"

> Like the sixteen year-old who gets too comfortable with her boy friend on a date, lowers her guard and ends up pregnant. She would like a "Do-Over."

> Like the executive with high vocational goals and loads of ambition, works his way up the ladder to reach his goals. Once he has arrived, he is ready to celebrate, but there is no one around and his family is gone, sacrificed on the altar of worldly success. He would yell out "Do-Over!"

30% of an average person’s anxiety is focused on things about the past that can’t be changed. If we were honest with ourselves, we all would say that there is something in our past that we regret doing and wished we could yell "Do-Over" and find ourselves with a second chance.

I remember writing a letter in college to some friends sharing in harsh terms my dissatisfaction and disappointment over our friendship which successfully destroyed that relationship. I often have wished that I could yell ¡§Do-Over¡¨ and never wrote that letter.

If we are honest with ourselves, we could create a list of past regrets and ¡§Do-Over¡¨ wishes.

Perhaps you would:

Watch what you say

Find different friends

Not drink or do drugs

Wait until marriage

Be more honest

Finish school

Spend more time with the family

Resist temptation

Unfortunately, in the game of life, there is no ¡¥Do-Over¡¨ rule. We most deal with all these regrets. How does one handle these regrets?

Well, you could:

„« Ignore them and say that they never happened. However, this will create an uneasy and guilty spirit that leads one into emotional problems and depression.

„« Rationalize them and justify with logical reasons why you did what you did. This route can lead to a cold, hard and insensitive heart that lacks mercy and compassion.

„« Dwell on the regrets and beat yourself up over every bad decision that was made. This too is a bad route. It leads to a self-absorbed person that has a low self-worth and suffers from guilty.

„« Release the regrets by giving them to God. He is in the business of making things new again. He has said that if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is passed away, behold all things become new.

With God, there is a second chance. In the passage that read earlier, there are two words not found in the other gospel accounts of the resurrection. All of the gospels record the resurrection. Only in Mark¡¦s account do we find this phrase. This two-word phrase points to the reality that God is a God of Second Chances. If you have ever what to find a second chance, you can find it with God.

Look in Mark 16:7.

1. Because of the resurrection, a second chance is possible.

Though we may fail God miserably, He still wants us to know that there is a second chance. On that Sunday morning, the angel told the women to go and tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus is alive.

The disciples, just hours before fled when Jesus was betrayed. They spent the past three years with Him learning and hearing about the love of God, and observing the wondrous miracles of God. At the time of heated testing and persecution when Jesus could have used the company and support of his fiends, the disciples leave Him high and dry. They forget about being loyal, and look out for themselves.