Summary: God wants us to understand that;
1. Failure is not final.
2. Bad results can be redeemed.
3. The future is open.
4. True change comes when you seek truth, and when you change your actions.
We all love second chances in life, even third and fourth chances as well, because we all make mistakes. And we continue to do so. But sometimes those mistakes are the decisions we make in life which leave us being cast aside by others. Truth is, some people don’t give us a second chance when we have let them down, or done things to hurt them, or perhaps sinned in a way that others just cannot excuse. And that hurts and it can make us feel rejected and lonely, feel useless.
Problem is, as sinful human beings as we are, we easily grab negative chances, we take advantage of situations and call them my only chance. At any given opportunity we can steal, lie, become corrupt, and manipulate others, all for our selfish reasons and benefits. If only we were patient enough to wait upon the Lord to make things right for us, to restore us, before we create and make our way out.
And sometimes, it is life itself that won’t give us second chances to make things right, to repeat and improve some things, to do things differently. Issues like, studies, business, family & social relationships and love & marriage, if only we could get a second chance to do things in a different way, and prove ourselves right.
In this story; CHANCES, I want you to think about the fact that, when others think we are finished; God never gives up on us. Our God is the God of second chances.
One just has to look at Scripture to know that God is the God of second chances. Take the example of Peter. Peter was one of the best known of Jesus’ disciples. And yet, Peter failed Jesus, right when Jesus needed him most.
And Jesus, not only forgave Peter, He gently restored him and set him free from his guilt. Jesus gave Peter a second chance. Others might have thought he was finished, would never serve Jesus again, but no. Peter was still useful to God. God hadn’t given up on him. He was the rock upon which Jesus would build that church. Out of defeat. Out of despair. Out of sin. Peter learned a great lesson. He learned that our God is the God of a second chances.
But, how is it, that God, who hates sin, could offer us sinners such second chances to love him? To serve and obey him? Well, let me share with you a few reasons.
God, through his Son Jesus, understands our humanity. Jesus was both fully God and fully human. And so understands us as humans. He relates to our struggles. The temptations that we face every day. Jesus understands what it means to be human. He knows our every weakness.
And so, apart from rejecting God and his Son Jesus, there is no sin that God cannot and will not forgive, if we ask for His forgiveness.
There are consequences in this life for our sin, but God is gracious and will forgive. And, can use us again in His service. He is the God of second chances. Perhaps you need to seek God’s forgiveness today and walk with him into a brighter future. He is just waiting for you to talk to him in prayer.
The first attitude adjustment that God wants to plant in our minds is: Failure is not final. If failure was final none of us would make it. None of the people of the Bible would make it. In fact, the Bible is one story after another of people who messed up repeatedly, and how they were coached along by God until they got it right. Names like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jonah, David, Paul and Peter come to mind — along with many others — including my own.
If failures were not included in the Bible there would be no one there. If failures were not included in the church no one would be here either. But the Bible also shows us that failure is not final. The Lord says, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34)
The second attitude that God wants us to adopt is: Bad results can be redeemed. Bad choices lead to bad consequences. Many of us are living with the results of a wrong decision. It is true that God forgives our past sins, and that he heals the wounds with which sin has injured us. However, there are scars that remain even from a healed wound. But even scars can serve a purpose. They remind us of what happens when we rebel against God and try to go our own way. They also serve to help us relate to other people who have wounds. We can help them to know that wounds can heal and that the consequences of our actions can be redeemed. God uses everything in our lives — even our failures.
John Ortberg has written, “Redeeming is what God is into. He is the finder of directionally-challenged sheep, the searcher of missing coins, and the embracer of foolish prodigal children. His favorite department is ‘Lost and Found.’ If there is one way that human beings consistently underestimate God’s love, it is perhaps in His loving longing to forgive.”
The third point is that all of this means: The future is open. The future is as bright as the promises of God. Failure does not mean that you are finished. God can not only forgive your sin, He can redeem what you have done. You are not doomed to repeat your mistakes and relive your lifestyle. Your future is not dictated by your past. Something new awaits you. It is a future designed by God. Jesus said, “I am making everything new” (Revelation 21:5).
True change comes when: You seek truth. Part of the reason that you have had failure and dysfunction in your life is that you have believed the wrong things. Sometimes you have even consciously or unconsciously rejected the truth of God. You wanted to be able to figure things out on your own. You wanted to trust your own thinking rather than submit your mind to the Word of God. So the result was that you believed things that were not true and acted on them. You believed that you did not have to obey God in everything and you could get by with doing what you wanted. But chaos and dysfunction began to come into your life. Things began to fall apart.
The point is this: Wrong thinking results in wrong living. Actions begin as ideas. If your ideas are wrong then the things you do will be full of error. You need to fill your mind with the Word of God, just as you need to fill your life with God.
The other thing that brings about true change is when: You change your actions. The most destructive thing you can do is to say: “This is just who I am. I can’t change at this stage in my life. People just have to accept me this way.” That may be true when we are talking about your basic personality type, but when it comes to hurtful and destructive actions, then you have to be humble enough to be willing to change. You cannot expect your life to work when you think that you can love God and do as you please.
QUOTES ABOUT SECOND CHANCES
“Some things just couldn't be protected from storms. Some things simply needed to be broken off...Once old thing were broken off, amazingly beautiful things could grow in their place.”
― Denise Hildreth Jones
“Hearts will break and people will hurt you, darling.” Her mother said. “But when you let those people control your outlook on the life, you only allow them to have a greater hold on your happiness. Once you accept the fact that every day is a new day to begin again, life becomes a much easier path to walk.” ― Courtney Giardinain her book Holding on to Georgia.
1. Failure is not final.
2. Bad results can be redeemed.
3. The future is open.
4. True change comes when you seek truth, and when you change your actions.
We all love second chances in life, even third and fourth chances as well, because we all make mistakes. And we continue to do so. But sometimes those mistakes are the decisions we make in life which leave us being cast aside by others. Truth is, some people don’t give us a second chance when we have let them down, or done things to hurt them, or perhaps sinned in a way that others just cannot excuse. And that hurts and it can make us feel rejected and lonely, feel useless.
Problem is, as sinful human beings as we are, we easily grab negative chances, we take advantage of situations and call them my only chance. At any given opportunity we can steal, lie, become corrupt, and manipulate others, all for our selfish reasons and benefits. If only we were patient enough to wait upon the Lord to make things right for us, to restore us, before we create and make our way out.
And sometimes, it is life itself that won’t give us second chances to make things right, to repeat and improve some things, to do things differently. Issues like, studies, business, family & social relationships and love & marriage, if only we could get a second chance to do things in a different way, and prove ourselves right.
In this story; CHANCES, I want you to think about the fact that, when others think we are finished; God never gives up on us. Our God is the God of second chances.
One just has to look at Scripture to know that God is the God of second chances. Take the example of Peter. Peter was one of the best known of Jesus’ disciples. And yet, Peter failed Jesus, right when Jesus needed him most.
And Jesus, not only forgave Peter, He gently restored him and set him free from his guilt. Jesus gave Peter a second chance. Others might have thought he was finished, would never serve Jesus again, but no. Peter was still useful to God. God hadn’t given up on him. He was the rock upon which Jesus would build that church. Out of defeat. Out of despair. Out of sin. Peter learned a great lesson. He learned that our God is the God of a second chances.
But, how is it, that God, who hates sin, could offer us sinners such second chances to love him? To serve and obey him? Well, let me share with you a few reasons.
God, through his Son Jesus, understands our humanity. Jesus was both fully God and fully human. And so understands us as humans. He relates to our struggles. The temptations that we face every day. Jesus understands what it means to be human. He knows our every weakness.
And so, apart from rejecting God and his Son Jesus, there is no sin that God cannot and will not forgive, if we ask for His forgiveness.
There are consequences in this life for our sin, but God is gracious and will forgive. And, can use us again in His service. He is the God of second chances. Perhaps you need to seek God’s forgiveness today and walk with him into a brighter future. He is just waiting for you to talk to him in prayer.
The first attitude adjustment that God wants to plant in our minds is: Failure is not final. If failure was final none of us would make it. None of the people of the Bible would make it. In fact, the Bible is one story after another of people who messed up repeatedly, and how they were coached along by God until they got it right. Names like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jonah, David, Paul and Peter come to mind — along with many others — including my own.
If failures were not included in the Bible there would be no one there. If failures were not included in the church no one would be here either. But the Bible also shows us that failure is not final. The Lord says, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34)
The second attitude that God wants us to adopt is: Bad results can be redeemed. Bad choices lead to bad consequences. Many of us are living with the results of a wrong decision. It is true that God forgives our past sins, and that he heals the wounds with which sin has injured us. However, there are scars that remain even from a healed wound. But even scars can serve a purpose. They remind us of what happens when we rebel against God and try to go our own way. They also serve to help us relate to other people who have wounds. We can help them to know that wounds can heal and that the consequences of our actions can be redeemed. God uses everything in our lives — even our failures.
John Ortberg has written, “Redeeming is what God is into. He is the finder of directionally-challenged sheep, the searcher of missing coins, and the embracer of foolish prodigal children. His favorite department is ‘Lost and Found.’ If there is one way that human beings consistently underestimate God’s love, it is perhaps in His loving longing to forgive.”
The third point is that all of this means: The future is open. The future is as bright as the promises of God. Failure does not mean that you are finished. God can not only forgive your sin, He can redeem what you have done. You are not doomed to repeat your mistakes and relive your lifestyle. Your future is not dictated by your past. Something new awaits you. It is a future designed by God. Jesus said, “I am making everything new” (Revelation 21:5).
True change comes when: You seek truth. Part of the reason that you have had failure and dysfunction in your life is that you have believed the wrong things. Sometimes you have even consciously or unconsciously rejected the truth of God. You wanted to be able to figure things out on your own. You wanted to trust your own thinking rather than submit your mind to the Word of God. So the result was that you believed things that were not true and acted on them. You believed that you did not have to obey God in everything and you could get by with doing what you wanted. But chaos and dysfunction began to come into your life. Things began to fall apart.
The point is this: Wrong thinking results in wrong living. Actions begin as ideas. If your ideas are wrong then the things you do will be full of error. You need to fill your mind with the Word of God, just as you need to fill your life with God.
The other thing that brings about true change is when: You change your actions. The most destructive thing you can do is to say: “This is just who I am. I can’t change at this stage in my life. People just have to accept me this way.” That may be true when we are talking about your basic personality type, but when it comes to hurtful and destructive actions, then you have to be humble enough to be willing to change. You cannot expect your life to work when you think that you can love God and do as you please.
QUOTES ABOUT SECOND CHANCES
“Some things just couldn't be protected from storms. Some things simply needed to be broken off...Once old thing were broken off, amazingly beautiful things could grow in their place.”
― Denise Hildreth Jones
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| Chances [Intro Chapter] Stories By Lovely Rutendo Nzira |