Chapel - Our God is a God of Second Chances

Intro:

One of the most enticing features of Christianity is the act of forgiveness.

Our message consists of this:

Upon receiving salvation, one is immediately offered forgiveness from God for their past, current, and future sins.

Even more, one is even granted eternal life because of this forgiveness.

This makes Christianity relatable and easily accessible for anyone.

This is relatable because we don’t need to know Christ before being able to admit that we have messed up before.

Whether we messed up in a small or large way, we have all fallen short.

There is good news and bad news to this:

Bad news: even though we may receive all of these things upon salvation and repenting of our sins, we are not excluded from sinning again.

In fact, we are incapable of not sinning.

This means that if you’ve been saved for a at least a little while, chances are you have already been given a second chance from the Lord.

Good news: our God is not just a God of second chances, but of thirds, fourths, fifths chances, and so on.

God’s forgiveness and mercy towards us extends further than all of our sin.

The Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11-12 “He also said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.’ So he distributed the assets to them.”

In this culture, the father would basically split all he had to give to his sons when he was about to die.

the firstborn would get double the portion that the younger son got.

Also, when the younger son asks for his inheritance from his father, he is insinuating that he would rather get his money now than to be with him until he dies.

this is wishing his father was dead.

Luke 15:13-19 “Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living. After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one would give him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! I’ll get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.” ’”

Notice how only after he had spent everything, a famine struck.

This means that crops weren’t growing, animals were not being fed properly, and people began to have less and less to eat.

If we were to apply this to our lives, we would need to recognize that the more we try to do everything on our own and live by our own rules, the worse it will be when a famine strikes.

No matter how hard we try, we cannot prevent bad things or tough situations from happening to us.

The younger son thought that all he needed was his dad’s money to have everything he needed in life, but after only a short time he spent it all and was left with no money and no father.

It’s easy to assume that money will solve all of our problems, but usually, when people get money and end up having too much money, they get more problems than when they had less.

Matt 19:24 “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.””

Some scholars say there was a gate in Jerusalem that was too small for a camel to pass through and had to squeeze through by crouching.

He, then, went begging for any way to get money and ended up working on a field feeding pigs.

He was so desperate and hungry that he was willing to eat from the pig’s trough, but even that no one would give to him.

He hit rockbottom.

Sometimes we need to hit rockbottom in order to realize how much we need God.

God will even let you hit rockbottom if he knows that that’s what it will take to get you to seek him.

In verse 17, he finally begins to realize how much better it was with his father.

Not knowing what his father was about to do, he wanted to just beg for mercy to become one of his father’s servants, who are not worried about dying of hunger.

He thought he was no longer worthy to be called his father’s son.

This is when he started to feel the guilt and shame from what he had done.

Sin can feel good for a moment, but it will always lead us to feeling shame and guilt.

If sin does not make you feel shame and guilty, then that means you are so blind to your sin that you don’t recognize how far it is taking you away from God.

Sin will always take us further than we want to go, keep us longer than we want to stay, and cost us more than we want to spend.

It is like digging a hole without realizing how deep you are until you are so deep that you can’t get out.

Luke 15:20 “So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.”

When I was younger, if I did something wrong or disobeyed my parents, I would get whipped.

It wasn’t abuse, just straight discipline.

I was disciplined probably at least 5 times a week.

Nowadays, this doesn’t really happen anymore, but maybe it should.

In this parable, the situation being described is very different from today.

Illustration:

5 students needed (the son, the father, 3 neighbors)

When the son left the father, wished him dead, and took his inheretence, the entire community would have heard about it too.

Not only would they know about it, but in this case, if they saw the son trying to come back, they would give him a whooping as well.

Imagine being the son in this situation, and you are walking into your neighborhood, with your neighbors just waiting there to get some hits in.

When the father saw his son from far out, he didn’t wait for his son to get to the house.

He didn’t prepare to yell at him or punish him for what he had done.

The father ran to the son.

In this scenario, the father running caused him shame and humiliation.

they were tunics, or long clothing like dresses, so he had to lift up his clothes so he wouldn’t trip.

Showing his bare legs was a humiliating thing for a middle-eastern man to do.

The father hugged and kissed his son before the son could even apologize.

This is an exact replica of Jesus.

The father was merciful to his son even though the son clearly did not deserve it.

Jesus shows us mercy even when we least deserve it.

Usually more than once.

Time and time again, as sinners, we are constantly sinning or going against God’s commands.

We do this to the point that Jesus could easily say, “okay I’m going to let them be for now.”

Jesus doesn’t just forgive us when we sin against him, he takes our place for the punishment we deserve.

The father not only embraced his son, but shielded him from his neighbors.

This is a small example of what Jesus does for us on the Cross.

Because of our sin, we were supposed to be condemned from God, never being able to be with him in eternity.

Jesus didn’t just let us go down that route.

Instead, he gives us the greatest hope we could ever receive.

When Jesus went down to the Cross, getting beaten and bruised, he took all of our sin, guilt, and shame with him.

He didn’t let us be punished for our sin and took it all upon himself.

When the son deserved to get beaten, the father took his place.

the father neglected his own stature, his own position, and gave it up for his son.

As a father, there is nothing that I would not give up or sacrifice for the well-being of my daughters.

I am not perfect by any means, but I would give up anything for my daughters.

How much more would Jesus do for those who call out to him?

How much more love and compassion can a perfect God show than someone like me?

Jesus takes our punishment for sin, and he takes our guilt and shame too.

That’s how much he loves us. That’s how much he wants us.

Think about anybody else in your life, who’s love even comes close to this?

Luke 15:21-24 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.”

The father completely ignores what the son says and prepares to celebrate.

He did not care for the words of his son, he only cared that he came back.

No matter how far our sin has taken us, as soon as we turn back Jesus is there to embrace us and to guide us back to him.

When one lost sinner repents, God rejoices and all of heaven celebrates.

Luke 15:25-32 ““Now his older son was in the field; as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he summoned one of the servants, questioning what these things meant. ‘Your brother is here,’ he told him, ‘and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ “Then he became angry and didn’t want to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. But he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ “ ‘Son,’ he said to him, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ””

The brother is another main character in this story.

He never left the father or did any wrong against him, yet he still didn’t get the picture.

the older brother was immediately offended and jealous by the treatment of his brother.

He was jealous that he never received such special treatment from his father.

This is how the older brother missed the point:

He was never lacking. He was never hungry or hit rockbottom.

He thought he was so good that when his sinful brother came along, he rejected him.

He could not rejoice that his brother was dead and is alive again, that he was lost and is found.

Conclusion

Are you like the younger brother?

Living life doing what you want, with no regard for God and his Word.

Do you think you know what is right and wrong? attempting to live without God?

Wasting money, or doing things that you know are not going to help you when the famine strikes?

Are you like the older brother?

Thinking you’re doing everything right, but ultimately being prideful and condeming others when they hit rockbottom and ask for mercy?

Are you so cold that you can’t rejoice when someone you know finds Jesus? Do you think you’re better than them?

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;”

No one is perfect and no one deserves God’s mercy.

The good news is that HE GAVE IT ANYWAYS.

Jesus died on the cross for both the younger and older brother.

He died for all sin, no matter what it is.

Whichever brother you can relate to right now, the message is for all of us.

Turn away from your sin and look to Christ.

As soon as you turn away he is ready to run towards you to hug you and to cover you from sin, guilt, and shame.