The God of Another Chance
(Sermon by Pastor David, Sept. 9, 2007)
1. God has been in the “another chance” business ever since
Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden.
2. The Grace of God means that even when we blow it and do
something stupid He gives us another chance!
3. All the way through the Bible we see God giving second and
third and forth chances when we acknowledge our sin and ask
for His forgiveness!
4. The problem is that although we expect God to keep giving us
chances we sometimes are not willing to do that for others
5. The worst thing that we can do in church is to make a mistake
or not follow through with your commitments and we are
relegated to that list of “don’t let them ever do anything again!”
ILL A church of God minister used to say, “A friend is someone who, if we botch something up royally, he doesn’t think we’ve done a permanent job.”
As we travel though the Bible we can see how God did what we must also do.
I. Abraham, Gen 12:1-3
A. 12:1 Then the LORD told Abram, "Leave your country, your
relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will
show you. 2 I will cause you to become the father of a great
nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make
you a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will
be blessed through you."
1. God promised to make Abraham the father of a great nation
and that all the families of the Earth would be blessed
through his seed.
2. Abraham did as God said but along the way he blew it,
several times.
B. When confronted by the Egyptians he lied and told them that
Sarah was his sister. (Gen 12: 12 When the Egyptians see
you, they will say, ’This is his wife. Let’s kill him; then we can
have her!’ 13 But if you say you are my sister, then the
Egyptians will treat me well because of their interest in you,
and they will spare my life."
C. Even though God had told Abraham that through his union
with his wife Sarah the world would be blessed, Abraham blew
it again.
1. He got old and impatient as did Sarah, so they took matters
into their own hands with Haggar the hand maiden. (expd)
D. God still gave him another chance with his son Isaac!
II. David, a man after God’s own heart!
A. 1 Sam 16: 13 So as David stood there among his brothers,
Samuel took the olive oil he had brought and poured it on
David’s head. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon
him from that day on.
1. When David was a young boy God chose him to be the
anointed one, to someday be king.
2. God favored him and even helped him to kill the giant
B. Still David blew it big time.
1. He went where he should not have gone and looked where
he should not have looked and then did what he should not
have done!
2. After all that God had done for him and through him he
sinned a grievous sin and then another!
3. First David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then
after she became pregnant he murdered her husband Uriah.
C. David realized his sin and repented and asked for forgiveness.
1. Psalms 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your
unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out
the stain of my sins.
2. God, in his mercy, forgave David and gave him another
chance after he had blown it over and over and over.
3. David was restored to greatness by God, so much so, that in
the New Testament Jesus is referred to as the Son of David.
III. The Chief Apostle, Peter.
Matt. 16: 15 Then he asked them, "Who do you say I am?" 16
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the
living God." 17 Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son
of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to
you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I
say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build
my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
A. Peter and his brother Andrew
B. Peter, walking on water.
C. Peter in the garden at the arrest of Jesus cuts off a man’s ear
D. Peter at the trial of Jesus
1. Although he boasted he would never do it, Peter denied
Jesus three times. (expd)
E. Even after Peter denied Christ three times and shouted
profanity God gave Peter another chance.
1. John 21: 15 After breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter,
"Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," Peter replied, "you know I love you." "Then feed
my lambs," Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question:
"Simon son of John, do you love me?" "Yes, Lord," Peter
said, "you know I love you." "Then take care of my sheep,"
Jesus said. 17 Once more he asked him, "Simon son of
John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved that Jesus asked
the question a third time. He said, "Lord, you know
verything. You know I love you." Jesus said, "Then feed my
sheep.
F. God gave Peter yet another chance to preach on the day of
Pentecost and 3,000 souls were saved and the church began!
IV. Saul (Paul) the Evangelizer and Church Planter
A. Acts 8:1 Saul was one of the official witnesses at the killing of
Stephen.
1. Acts 8: 3 Saul was going everywhere to devastate the
church. He went from house to house, dragging out both
men and women to throw them into jail.
2. Acts 9: 3 As he was nearing Damascus on this mission, a
brilliant light from heaven suddenly beamed down upon him!
4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
"Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?" 5 "Who are
you, sir?" Saul asked. And the voice replied, "I am Jesus, the
one you are persecuting! 6 Now get up and go into the city,
and you will be told what you are to do."
B. God gave Saul an new name and another chance to serve
Him.
1. He changed his name to Paul and God used him to write a
large part of the New Testament.
2. God used him to start churches all over the Roman Empire.
3. God did many miracles through Paul!
C. Even the apostle Paul, many years later, put aside his former
animosities and resentments toward the young John Mark who
had deserted him!
1. Although Mark had failed in his commitments and ran from
Responsibility, Paul gave Mark another chance to serve God
with his gifts and talents.
2. 2 Tim 4: 10 Demas has deserted me because he loves the
things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens
has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia. 11
Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come,
for he will be helpful to me.
Last>>>>
V. You and I
A. God has given you and I more chances than we can count!
1. 1 John 1: 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship
with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not
living in the truth.
2. 1 John 1: 8 If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling
ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.
B. Even with all of our sin, God gives us more chances than we
deserve!
1. 1 John 1: 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful
and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.
Conclusion:
God is in the business of giving second, third and more chances.
When it comes to church and our brothers and sisters, dare we do anything less? Just because someone has failed does not mean that they won’t eventually succeed if we give the opportunity! Remember, we are all sinners saved by Grace and someone, despite our failures, took a chance on us and gave us another then another then another chance!!
Another Chance
How often we wish for another chance
to make a fresh beginning.
A chance to blot out our mistakes
And change failure into winning.
It doesn’t take a new day To make a brand new start,
It only takes a deep desire To try with all our heart.
To live a little better And to always be forgiving
And to add a little sunshine To the world in which we’re living.
So never give up in despair And think that you are through,
For with God there’s always tomorrow And the hope of starting new.
by Helen Steiner Rice
