THE GOD OF A SECOND CHANCE
By: Dr. Mike Jones
How many times have we heard our family and friends say, “I’m glad you’re not God!” They know the person they’re talking too, if given the chance, would do them in.
Thank God that we know Him as the God of a second chance– That He didn’t give up on us, but every time we failed, He helped us up, brushed us off, and told us (after we repented), “Get back in the race and finish your course that’s been set up for you, since the foundation of the world.” He says to us, “The work I started in you, I will perfect in you until I complete it.”
Saints, God will forgive, God will restore, if we would genuinely confess our sin and turn from it. The word of God stated in 1st Epistle of John 1:8-9, “If we say that we have not sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” These verses tell us that there is no sin so great that God’s grace is not greater. Nothing you have done is so horrible that you cannot experience God’s forgiveness: He’s the God of a second chance.
The thing to remember is, it is God’s character to be gracious, merciful, to pardon our sins when we truly confess them. God’s character is found in the compound names of God:
A. Jehovah Nissi – The Lord is my victory
B. Jehovah Tiskemlu – The Lord is my righteousness
C. Jehovah Mekedis – The Lord is my sanctifier
D. Jehovah Adonai – The Lord is my master
E. Jehovah Shammah – The Lord is always there
Using Jonah, we need a second chance when:
A) We have evaded our responsibilities (read Jonah 1:2-3)
B) We are asleep and people are in danger and crying out for help.
Note: We often joke about saints falling asleep in the service, when in actually, the real tragedy is that many of them are asleep spiritually, too!
The Apostle Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:6, “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” (What is the Apostle saying, because believers have been delivered from the rule of darkness, they’re no longer walking in the darkness of sin but the light of God. And because we’re now the children of light, we should not be asleep to the spiritual issues around us; but always be ready and willing to speak the truth. Why? Because our enemy never sleeps.
HOW DO WE GET A SECOND CHANCE
1. When we realize we’ve blown it and admit it. (Read Jonah 1:11-12)
2. When we pray and repent (read Jonah 2:1-2, 7)
3. When we keep the promise(s) we’ve made unto God (read Jonah 2:9)
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE GET THE SECOND CHANCE
People will receive the good news that God is the God of a second chance.
I’ll leave YOU with this questions you need to ask yourself – will you use it or blow it?
(Adapted from the Teaching THE GOD OF A SECOND CHANCE: all Scripture references are taken from the KJV unless otherwise noted.)