THE SECOND CHANCE

1. Introduction

a) Do you know that our God is the God of 2nd chance?

i) 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 NIV)

b) Many times we have given way to sins and made terrible mistakes in our lives and yet time again and again we ask for and can still receive forgiveness from our God because he loves us. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to shed his blood and die on the cross for us.

i) 16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)

2. Does the Scripture record evidences showing our God the God of 2nd chance?

a) God rewrote the 10 commandments with his finger on the 2nd stone tablets

i) 1At that time the Lord said to me, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to me on the mountain. 2Also make a wooden ark. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Then you are to put them in the ark." 3So I made the ark out of acacia wood and chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hands. 4The Lord wrote on these tablets what he had written before, the Ten Commandments he had proclaimed to you on the mountain, out of the fire, on the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me. 5Then I came back down the mountain and put the tablets in the ark I had made, as the Lord commanded me, and they are there now. (Deuteronomy 10:1-5 NIV)

b) King Hezekiah was given the 2nd chance to live for another 15 years

i) 1In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover." 2Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3"Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5"Go and tell Hezekiah, 'This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. (Isaiah 38:1-5 NIV)

ii) Also, it is mentioned in 2 Kings 20: 1-6:

@1. 1In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover." 2Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3"Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5"Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, 'This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. 6I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.'" (2 Kings 20:1-6 NIV)

c) Resurrection (becomes alive again)

i) Elijah resurrected a son of a widow in the village of Zarephath.

@1. 17Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?" 19"Give me your son," Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20Then he cried out to the Lord, "Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?" 21Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, "Lord my God, let this boy's life return to him!" 22The Lord heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. 23Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!" 24Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth." (1 Kings 17:17-24 NIV)

ii) Elisha resurrected a little child of a prominent woman in the city of Shunem.

@1. 18The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. 19He said to his father, "My head! My head!" His father told a servant, "Carry him to his mother." 20After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. 21She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out. 22She called her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return." (2 Kings 4:18-22 NIV)

@2. 27When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why." 28"Did I ask you for a son, my lord?" she said. "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?" 29Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. Don't greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy's face." 30But the child's mother said, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So he got up and followed her. 31 went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, "The boy has not awakened." 32When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord. 34Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy's body grew warm. 35Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 36Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite." And he did. When she came, he said, "Take your son." 37She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out. (2 Kings 4:27-37 NIV)

3. What does "having a 2nd chance" really mean?

a) Often people said that if they were given a 2nd chance, they would want to live and do it all over again differently, not the ways they have been doing now. They have said this because of their regrets and disappointments in life.

b) People who have near death experience will tell us that life is so precious. Every second and minute of our life counts and is being ticked away, nearing to the full quota of life God has given us.

c) We don't have to wait for a 2nd chance. We can decide now to change the ways we live and do so. Many a time we have more than 2nd chance i.e. 3rd, 4th, 5th chance etc. and still we have not caught the real meaning of "having a 2nd chance".

d) "Having a 2nd chance" means that we do not live and do things aimlessly but rather live and do them in the way and fear of our Creator, for God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

i) 13Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. 14For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14 NIV)

4. Prayer focus

a) Pray that we will follow and live the ways of the Lord.

b) Pray that we will receive strength and protection from the Lord to overcome our challenges in life.

c) Don't let go this golden opportunity!