The God of a 2nd Chance. John 8:1-10
I wonder, is there any person here who has been in a situation in which you really wanted something to work out but it didn’t? You felt like if I just had a second chance, I know I could make this thing work. (I Wonder am I talking to anybody in here). When we look back over our life, at some of the situations that we have been involved in and some of the choices that we have made, we think, if only I had a second chance.
If only I had a second chance, I wouldn’t have married who I married. If only I had a second chance, I wouldn’t have moved where I moved. If only I had a second chance, I would have finished school. If only I had a second chance, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in the things that I was involved in.
Webester describes the word 2nd as one that is next after the first. (think about it). The spiritual significance of the number 2 in the bible denotes a difference. When we think about 2 or 2nd in the bible we know that it is different from the first.
We notice that #1 excludes all differences. (When you have 1 of something you have nothing to compare it with). When you have 2 of something, there has to be a difference. One has to be first and the other has to be second. They can be equal in all aspects, but they can never be the same.
#2 is the first number in which we can divide another. When the earth lay in chaos, it’s condition was ruin and darkness. The 2nd thing recorded in connection with the creation was the introduction of a 2nd thing which was light. When the 2nd thing came into being, immediately there was a difference and a division. The bible says that God divided the light from the darkness and the light he called day and the darkness, he called night.
The 2nd person of the trinity took on 2 natures, perfect God and perfect Man. There are 2 testaments, the old and the new. There are 2 natures, the sin nature and the son nature.
Sometimes when we make a mistake in life it feels so final. When you make a serious mistake you might think its all over for you. I want to let you know this morning CHURCH that the game of life isn’t like a game in which you only have 1 chance to win before it’s over. I want to let you know that when you make a mistake in this life, with God you get a 2nd chance.
The bible that I read tells me that the God I serve is a God of mercy. The word mercy means to extend help to the lowliest or the most undeserving. It implies compassion that overshadows punishment. Even when justice demands it. (You see, justice demanded that each and everyone in here should have been dead, but mercy stepped in and said, not so.
Mercy is a word we throw around. We use it often in our prayers. We sing it in our songs. We talk about it in our Jargon, “There by the grace of God go I.”
Justice demanded that you and I should die, but mercy stepped in and said not so.
So great is God’s mercy that it is almost inexpressible. God’s mercy knows no limit. There is none who is beyond his saving power. His mercy reaches to the highest mountain and flows to the lowest valley. I love that song, “Your Grace and Mercy, brought me through, I’m living this moment, because of you.” For if it had not been for the Lord who was on my side… I was a wrech undone… Satan was getting ready to celebrate. Satan thought he had me but I got away.
The bible says that God is a God of mercy and compassion and that his mercies are new every morning.
John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us all our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrightesousness. In order for us to walk day by day in fellowship with our Bros. And Sis., we must confess our sins. Sins of commission, omission, sins of thoughts works or deeds. Sins of acts, secret sins, and public sins.
We got to drag our sins out into the open before God. Stop trying to cover up your sins, drag them out into the open, call them by their names, take God’s side against them and forsake them. He will forgive you and cleanse you from all ungrighteousness.
Today is a new day, yet many folk’s lives will remain the same. Ain’t nothing changing in their lives. Their attitudes, habits and lifesyles will be unchanged. That’s because they fail to realize that there is new life in Christ Jesus. He alone can wipe away the old and bring in the new. He alone can give folk a new start in life. He alone can give anyone a 2nd chance.
You and I can take a man, clean him up and put him in a new suit. But, God is the only one who can take a suit and put in it a new man. You can change the outward man by changing your hairstyle or by wearing new clothes. You can have a new attitude. You can get a makeover. You can lean how to make friends and influnce enemies. But only Jesus can make all things new and give you a second chance.
Your future is not determined by your past. Your future is not determined by what you used to be. Your future is not determined by what you used to do, but your future and my future is determined by who Jesus Christ is and what he can and will do. Jesus Christ is the same today and yesterday. There is no secret, what God can do, what he’s done for others he’ll do for you.
Look at the text…. (Read). The crowd wanted to codemn this woman. The scribes and the Pharisees who accused her had already pronounced the sentence of death upon her.
In the natural, her situation was hopeless. But with God, this woman got a 2nd chance. Did Jesus give this woman another chance so she could go out and repeat her mistakes and fall into sin again? No, he told her “Go and sin no more.
In John 1:17 we learned that grace and truth came through JC. Here was an example of that. In other words, “neither do I condemn you.” That is an example of grace and mercy.
I’m glad this morning to know that when I fall short, the Lord tells me to “go and sin no more.” (I wonder is there anyone in here ever faced a seemingly hopeless situation). But Jesus, looked down and said “Go and sin no more).
Maybe there is somebody here who is discourage because you’ve failed in some area. Maybe you are confused and ypu’ve been running in the wrong direction of life. Don’t be afraid to go to God and confess your mistakes to Him. God wants to put you back in the game. The games isn’t over yet. If you will stay faithful to God and His Word, the game isn’t over until you win.
Maybe you’ve completely turned your back on God and now you’re backslidden, living without the peace of God and the joy of salvation you once knew. You might be out of fellowship with God. BIJST God hasn’t turned his back on you. GoD is merciful and compassinate, and he still cares about you.
I want you to know that even if you’ve messed up, God still has a plan for your life. The bible talks about many men and women who messed up, but with God, they got another chance.
In 1st Kings 18 and 19, we read that the prophet Elijah was used mightily by God to destroy the prophets of Baal. When Elijah prayed to God for it to rain because there had been a drought for 3 ½ years. God answered Elijah’s prayer. By God’s demonstration of power through Elijah, the people repented and their hearts were turned back to God.
Empowered by the spirit of God, Elijah out ran King Ahab’s chariot on foot all the way back to Jezreel. When Elijah arrived in Jezreel, he was told that Queen Jezebel had heard what he did and was going to kill him. But instead of turning to God for help, Elijah ran away in the wilderness in fear of Jezebel. Elijah sat down under a juniper tree.
So, what had happened to Elijah was he got out of faith and went into fear. Elijah went into depression and self-pity. Elijah said to God, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken they covenant, thrown down theine alters, and slain they prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
But notice here what God said to Elijah, “Go return on they way to the wilderness of Damascus.” In other words, the Lord told Elijah, “The game isn’t over yet, Get up and finish what I’ve called you to do.
That’s what God is saying to some of us right now. Get up and do what I told you to do. You didn’t do it the first time I told you but now I’m gonna give you a 2nd chance. You fell short the first time, but now you get a 2nd chance. You let somebody stop you the first time, but now you get a 2nd chance.
As long as you are sitting on the sidelines of life, asking God “Why did this happen to me?” you will be defeated. But God want to help us. So get up, shake yourself from the dust of doubt and defeat. Then God can come to your rescue and bring you a victory. With God you too, can get a 2nd chance.
We understand that Peter denied 3 times that he knew Jesus. Yet some 56 days later, it was Peter whom God used to preach the salvation message that brought 3,000 people into the kingdom of God. Why, because with God, Peter got another chance.
I want to let you know this morning, that the same God that stored Peter and gave him a 2nd chance is the sam God today who wants to restore you and give you another chance. He is still saying to you today, “You don’t have to be defeated.” You don’t have to be discouraged. I will deliver you out of every trouble if you’ll just get back in the game. You can’t hit a home run, if you don’t stay in the game. You can’t run a touchdown unless you press toward the mark. You can’t win the race unless you cross the finish line.
I want to let you know this morning that if God is for you, who can be against you. Psalms 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” The game is not over yet, not with God. With God you get another chance.
I’m glad that my hope is not built on my job. My hope is not built on my car. My hope is not built on my bank account. But my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and his righteousness.
I don’t know about you, maybe you can bear your own burdens, maybe you can carry your own load. Maybe you can fight your own battles, but I nee a savior that will go with me to the end.
