Scandalous Mercy Part 3 | Does God Give 2nd Chances? with Chris Schlotterbeck

Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd

like to connect with HCV, go to hcv .church forward

slash connect. If you feel called to give, go

to hcv .church forward slash give. And if at

any time you feel called to make a change in

your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the

message. Hey, good morning, everyone. How's everybody

doing today? You're all looking smiling and beautiful.

If you're joining us from home, thanks for welcoming

us into your space. So I need you to be honest

with me this morning. I hung this on my table

for a reason. By show of hands, would you wear

this? Oh, you can't see it? Oh, okay. Here you

go. Would you put that on? Anybody? It's not

a tie -dye. It's not a tie -dye. It's a stain.

Okay? For those of you that can't see, maybe

you need glasses like me. Just saying. Jeez.

I mean, really, let's be honest. It's a nice

shirt. It's got good fabric. Still fits. Still

has purpose. But there's a stain. And it's funny

how one stain can change everything. Because

here's the crazy thing. Because it has a stain,

you don't notice the material. You don't notice

the design. You don't notice the stitching. All

you see is the stain. And for some of us, we

know exactly how that feels. Just being honest,

we walked in here today and you have unanswered

questions. You have habits you haven't broken.

You have prayers that feel like God hasn't heard.

You have a relationship that's in turmoil. You

can't pay your bill. Decisions you want back.

moments we're not proud of, and here's the tension.

What do we do when our relationship with Jesus

doesn't look clean, but is actually a mess? Because

if we're honest, real life and real faith is

often messy. But as people, we tend to take our

shirt and we scrub it and we wash it and we throw

bleach on it. We try to hide it and cover it

up. We get a toothbrush going on it. And then,

if we can't get the stain out, what do we do?

We don't even donate it. We throw it away. It's

gone. What good is it? It's worthless. But here's

the good news. Our God is not intimidated by

stains. He doesn't look at your life today and

say, it's ruined. He doesn't throw you away.

In fact, when we have stains, he actually lifts

you up and puts you back on display for others

to see. Because God specializes in restoration,

in cleansing, in second chances. And we're right

in the middle of our April series, God's Scandalous

Mercy, a journey through the book of Jonah. And

thus far we have discussed. God called to the

prophet Jonah and said, go to the city of Nineveh

and preach to the people. We learned last week

that they were the sworn enemies and a very,

very wicked group of people. They hated the Israelites.

They would torture people, hurt men, women, and

children, kill entire people groups. They were

horrific. So God told Jonah to go. And what did

he say? Yes or no? He said no. He said, no, I'm

not going. In fact, Jonah went in the opposite

direction. Let's once again look at our map that

we took a gander at last week. Jonah was in Joppa.

God asked him to go to Nineveh, 550 miles northwest.

Jonah said no and boarded a ship and headed for

Tarsus, the last known civilization on earth.

In other words, to the ends of the earth. When

he was on the boat, God sent a big storm to get

Jonah's attention, and we found Jonah where?

Asleep in the boat. The brutal sailors thought

they were all going to die. They knew it was

something bigger than just the storm. They knew

it was spiritual. Once they learned who Jonah

was, they didn't want to do it, but they ended

up throwing him overboard. And, of course, those

sailors would come to believe in God. That's

when the story gets really weird. At the end

of chapter one, the Lord provided a huge fish

to swallow Jonah. And it doesn't sound good.

It doesn't sound positive. It actually sounds

like a problem. But then we learned that what

we call a problem is actually God's provision.

God provided a fish to swallow Jonah. And he's

in the belly of the fish for three days and three

nights. And it's in that belly that he was contemplating

his life choices. Begrudgingly, of course, Jonah

begins to pray for God's mercy. As Jonah was

praying, did anything happen immediately? No,

he had to wait. And we learned another principle

last week that while we're waiting, God is still

working. That God works in the middle of our

messes. And if you're in this place today and

you've been praying for a long time, my encouragement

to you is keep praying. Because when you pray,

God hears your prayers. Even if we don't see

anything happening, it doesn't mean God's not

working. He is working and desires to impact

and change all of us. So let's open in prayer.

Invite the Holy Spirit to prepare our hearts

to receive his truth today. Holy Spirit, come.

God, we silence distractions in Jesus' name.

I pray that you would open our ears, our minds,

our hearts. to receive your truth. God, may we

be different than when we walked in. We're grateful.

We're grateful for Jonah. And we're grateful

that we have the ability to look at our own lives

and learn from him. Change us in Jesus' name.

Amen. So that recap from chapters one and two

leads us to our first thought. Our relationship

with Jesus can be messy. Look what happens to

Jonah at the end of that chapter two, Jonah chapter

two, verse 10. And the Lord commanded the fish

and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. In other

words, the fish throws up Jonah on the shore.

He's alive, but he's a mess. And his relationship

with God is like some of yours. It wasn't clean.

You've gone through a lot of stuff. Jonah has

been through it all. He finds himself on the

shore covered in fish guts and bile. It's absolutely

nasty. And here's the reality. Following Jesus

isn't always easy. It's not predictable. You

don't have to have it all together. It's often

messy. It's filled with doubts, bad choices,

slow growth, and moments when we don't get it

right. But the good news is that Jesus has never

required perfection. He invites us into relationship.

And that's what we have to prioritize. Listen

to David's prayer in Psalm chapter 40, verse

Psalms 40:17

17 from the message paraphrase. And me, I'm a

mess. I want nothing and have nothing. And I

believe David here is turning us on to something

that we all need to learn to do. Be honest before

God. We need to look up to God when we're struggling

and say, hey God, I'm a mess. Empower me. Notice

what David says, make something of me. You can

do it. Listen to that trust, that faith, that

hope. You've got what it takes, but God don't

put it off. Those words need to be spoken by

some of you today. You can do it, God. I trust

you. Just look at the life of Jonah. God gives

Jonah a clear call. Jonah runs in the opposite

direction. He boards a ship hoping to hide from

the world. He gets caught in a storm. He admits

his mistakes, gets thrown overboard, ends up

in the belly of a fish. Church, that's not just

messy, that's rock bottom. And yet, where does

God meet him? He meets him at the end of his

rope. He doesn't meet him after he fixes everything,

not after he proves himself worthy. God meets

Jonah in the storm, in the water, in the fish.

Everywhere Jonah went, God was. God pursued him.

And that's the good news of the gospel. See,

Jesus isn't intimidated by our mess. He's not

intimidated by it. He steps into it. He embraces

it. It doesn't matter if it's your questions,

your struggles, your inconsistency. None of that

disqualifies you. In fact, I believe they're

often the very place where God's mercy reveals

itself to you. How do I know that? Well, Jesus

invites us in Matthew 11, 28. Come to me. All

you are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and

I will give you rest. And carrying heavy burdens

equals a mess. God is inviting us to bring our

messes to him. And why? Because it leads us to

our second thought. We serve a God of second

chances. Jonah chapter three, verse one, probably

one of the most powerful verses in the entire

book. Notice what it says. And the Lord spoke

to Jonah a second time. The Lord spoke to Jonah

a second time. And in those two simple words,

we learned something very important about our

God. And if you don't take anything else away

from the day, pay attention and receive this

truth. Open your ears right now. We serve a God

of second chances. God bless you guys. I knew

you would love this place. Go home. Go have lunch.

Just kidding. God chased Jonah to the ends of

the earth to offer a second chance. God sent

his fish to swallow Jonah so he could receive

a second chance. God doesn't count our mistakes

against us. We serve a God of second chances.

Titus chapter 3, verse 5. He saved us. He embraced

Titus 3:5

us. He met us, not because of the righteous things

we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed

away our sins, giving us new birth and new life

through the Holy Spirit. And see, church, this

isn't just the story of Jonah. This theme is

woven through the entire Bible. Our scriptures

are story after story after story of second chances.

Moses murdered a man, but God displayed grace

and mercy and used him to free Israel. David

committed adultery and then had the husband of

the woman. killed to cover it up. But God displayed

grace and mercy when he repented. God forgave

him and still called him a man after God's own

heart. Rahab was a prostitute, but God displayed

grace and used her to help protect the spies.

And later in the New Testament, that same woman

Rahab, we learn is a part of the genealogy of

Jesus. Think about that. God chose to send his

very own son through the family line of a prostitute.

We serve a God of second chances. Zacchaeus was

a corrupt tax collector. He stole from people

and was greedy. God displayed grace. When Jesus

came to his home to have dinner and forgave his

sins and made him new, Peter was an angry, foul

-mouthed fisherman, became a disciple, denied

Jesus three times before his death. But God displayed

grace and forgiveness to Peter and reinstated

him and used him to help build the early church.

Paul was a Pharisee who killed and terrorized

Christians. He's the very person who God chose

to be the greatest known missionary the world

has ever seen. Our God displayed grace, and it's

throughout the pages of the entire Bible. It

should make us reflect on our own life. It should

make us see what God has done for us so that

we can learn to be gracious. So that we can learn

to thank God for our salvation. Not just once,

but daily. We thank God for his compassion, for

his mercy, for his second chances. And as we

read through Jonah and discuss these other biblical

heroes, please understand their lives are meant

to be mirrors into our lives. The people we read

about in the Bible reveal to us truths about

ourselves and about God's love to us. Because

if we're honest, every single one of us is one

mistake away. One decision away from needing

a second chance. We are one moment of anger away

from destroying a relationship. We are one greedy

decision away from ruining our careers. We are

one moment of weakness away when no one else

is looking. One drink too many. One sin that

we took too far. Every single one of these figures

are mirrors. And they remind us that every single

one of us at some point are going to need a second

chance. A second chance at our marriage or our

relationship. A second chance with our kids after

we spoke those words to them. In fact, some of

you walked in here struggling with shame and

guilt over your past. Past choices, past mistakes.

And if that is you, dare I say you're in the

right place. Because God spoke to Jonah a second

time. Let's see what happens with Jonah. Jonah

chapter three, verse two through four. Notice,

get up and go to the great city of Nineveh and

deliver the message I've given you. This time,

Jonah obeyed in the Lord's command and went to

Nineveh, a city so large it took three days to

see it all. On the day Jonah entered the city,

he shouted to the crowds, 40 days from now, Nineveh

will be destroyed. So please understand, let

me set the picture for you. The city of Nineveh

was truly great. It was a wonder of the world.

The capital of the Assyrian nation. The greatest

seat of power in that known world. The Assyrians,

of course, we learn, were the sworn enemies of

the Israelites. And as a child, Jonah would have

learned about the brutality and the barbaric

nature of this group of people. So as he walked

into the city, literally Jonah's worst fears

would have been realized. Remember, it was common

practice for the Assyrians to skin their enemies

alive and then to place those skins on the outer

walls of the city as a sign of their power and

warning to their future enemies. So imagine Jonah

walking through these gates, a Jewish boy from

a small town, sworn enemy of the Assyrians, and

as he's walking through, this is what he would

have seen. In the British Museum in London, there's

actually a replica of an Assyrian gate. And this

artifact, which you're about to see right now,

is on display. This is a bronze band. It was

discovered in an archaeological dig in Iraq.

And of course, it was originally on a gate in

a city in Assyria. And what do you see there?

You see an Assyrian soldier literally cutting

off the arms and legs of his enemies. Then you

see one of the enemies being impaled on a pole

where if done right, those people could survive

for three to four days, baking in the sun, crying

out for mercy. And then once they die, they cut

their heads off and put them on top of their

cities. The point, this is who the Assyrians

are. They're a brutal, horrific group of people.

And this is how they would have treated Jonah's

people. This is what the Assyrian people did

to the people of God. And sending Jonah to Nineveh

is the modern -day equivalent of sending a Jewish

rabbi into the streets of Berlin at the height

of Nazi Germany, proclaiming that the Nazis would

fall. Except the Assyrians would make Nazi Germany

look compassionate. That was the setting, Jonah

Jonah 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3. Jonah's walking through the gates

of the city, which leads us to our next thought.

Our Jesus story is revealed through how we live

and what we say. And I believe in that order.

Jonah chapter three, verses four through five.

On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted

to the crowds, 40 days from now, Nineveh will

be destroyed. Now, when we read that, we think

no big deal, but that very well could be the

worst sermon ever recorded in the Bible. And

this translation, the New Living Translation,

is actually being generous. In the original Hebrew,

Jonah preached five words. Forty more days than

of a burn. That's all he said. That's the entire

message. And what do you see in that? Notice

Jonah wasn't even trying. Wasn't even trying.

He doesn't tell the people what to do. He doesn't

point them to God. He doesn't mention mercy or

grace. 40 days, Nineveh, burn. That's it. He

wanted them to burn. He wanted them to perish.

Now all of us have seen something similar to

this when we see a message like this in downtown.

Or we see it on the TV. Or we see it on the news.

And here's the reality. All of us cringe when

we see that. We think, why are you holding that

sign up? You're hurting people more than helping

them. But this message, this message is a lot

more powerful than what Jonah did. At least this

person is giving the people a choice, turn or

burn. You know what Jonah said? Burn! All of

you, burn! At least Turner Bird gives you an

opportunity to respond. So think about it. God

gave Jonah this opportunity. God gave him a second

chance. And now all he does is say burn. Like,

Jonah, you can do better. Put a little effort

behind it. That's what I wanted you to do. Yet

through all of this, listen to what God does.

The people of Nineveh believed God's message,

and from the greatest to the least, they declared

a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.

See, we have to understand, this was one of the

worst people groups in the history of the known

world, coupled with one of the worst sermons

ever spoken, and all of that equals revival.

Now that word gets thrown around a lot, and people

want it, and people desire it. Here we have two

of the worst things that ever happened, and it

equals revival. How? Well, the interesting thing

is, behind the scenes, God is working. It was

known that the Assyrian people worship a god

named Dagon, and this god was part man, part

fish, and part little mermaid, if you will. As

you can see. The Assyrian god was actually the

embodiment of water, sea creatures, and man.

And you can actually see in the next one, there

was a stone carving that was discovered as part

of the archaeological dig. And it's interesting,

the Hebrew word for fish is dag. Just like Dagon.

So a dag, Dagon, swallowed Jonah, and then the

fish threw him up on the shore. And then suddenly

this preacher shows up in Nineveh. The Assyrians

and all the people in the city at this point

would have heard the story about this man being

swallowed by a Dagon. Fish smell is nasty. If

any of you have ever fished before, any fishermen?

Like your hands smell rank for three days. Just

from dealing with fish. Jonah spent three days

inside a fish. So there would have been no doubt

that the people would have smelled Jonah coming

from a long way away. And it's interesting, some

scholars have noted that after three days in

the belly of a fish, Jonah would have been bleached

white from intestinal juices. The things that

make you go, hmm. So imagine now, imagine you're

an Assyrian Dagon worshiper. And this man walks

into your town looking and smelling like a fish.

You're going to listen. Because it's obviously

clear that this man was sent by God with a message.

And the crazy thing is, Jonah didn't need to

show up and perform a sign like the Old Testament

prophets. He was the sign. He became the sign.

Are you following me? So my question to you today

is, what does your life look like to those in

your sphere of influence who are not following

Jesus? Is it an example of Jesus to them? Or

is it a compromise? Is it make them wonder, I

thought you said you go to church. Why do you

talk that way? Why do you live that way? Why

do you drink so much? See, your life is your

story. And that's why Jesus said in Matthew 5,

16, in the same way, let your good deeds shine

out for all to see so that everyone will praise

your heavenly Father. Do people see good in your

life? When they look at you and how you live,

do they see you serving? Do they see hope? Do

they see love? Do they see joy? Do they see peace?

Do they see meaning? Do they see forgiveness?

Do they see grace and mercy? Because if they're

not, They don't want anything to do with you.

The point of following Jesus, the point of living

on mission, is to be an example of him to the

world. It's not to blend in. It's not to hide.

It's to stand apart. It's to go against the grain.

It's to live that life for other people to see

the light, if you will. And what about your words?

Do you speak life, hope, meaning, to your family,

friends, coworkers, classmates, to our community?

Do they hear about Jesus through your life? 1

Peter 3 .15, instead, you must worship Christ

as Lord of your life. Prioritize your relationship

with Jesus. And if someone asks about your hope

as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

Are you ready to explain it? Do you look for

opportunities to speak meaning and life into

the lives of others? I mean, some of you play

golf. You got four hours. Four hours of a captive

audience. Do people ever hear Jesus? Or do they

only hear about your favorite sports teams? Our

God is a God of second chances. And he's constantly

giving them to us. But we have to begin to step

out and believe that God will use us to impact

the lives of others. We can't be ashamed. We

can't beat ourselves up over past mistakes. We

can't look at our lives and say we're not worthy

or we're not ready, which leads to our final

thought. See, we have to realize our mess becomes

our message. Our mess becomes our message. A

mistake in God's hands. can become a miracle.

That's because our God is a God of second chances.

Remember, Moses was a murderer, turned into a

liberator. Rahab was a prostitute, turned protector.

Peter denied Jesus, but became the rock of the

church. Paul persecuted and murdered, and then

would go on to be the greatest missionary for

God. What you and I see as a setback might actually

be a setup for God to do something great in your

life. And I believe it's happening today. If

you allow God to use you, especially your messes,

to point others to him, giving them hope, meaning,

and significance, that's all you'll want to do

with the rest of your life. And please understand,

God doesn't disqualify. He calls you to go out

and to live an abundant life for others. And

this is exactly what was happening in Jonah's

life. God was using his disobedience to change

the hearts of the Assyrians all the way from

the very least to the greatest and those in charge.

Let's continue in our story. Jonah 3, 6 through

9. When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah

was saying, he stepped down from his throne.

Notice he stepped down. He took off his royal

robes. Why? Symbolically saying he was no longer

in charge. He dressed himself in burlap and sat

on a heap of ashes. And you say, Chris, what's

that all about? That's all about remorse. That's

all about going to God and seeking forgiveness.

Then the king and his nobles sent this decree

throughout the city. No one, not even the animals

from your herds and flocks may eat or drink anything

at all. People and animals alike must wear garments

of mourning and everyone must pray earnestly

to God. They must turn from their evil ways and

stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps

even yet God will change his mind and hold back

his fierce anger from destroying us. You say,

Chris, what does that look like in modern day

life? Imagine in a second if a street preacher

from Iran somehow made his way into the White

House and got to sit down with the president.

This street preacher walks into the Oval Office.

He's not wearing a suit and tie. His clothes

are tattered, ripped, dirty, and smell like fish.

His overall demeanor is a little sketchy. With

all the cameras and the world watching, he looks

President Trump in the eyes and says, I have

bad news, Mr. Trump. You're going to burn. Now,

I don't know about you, but I've read a lot about

our president. And I believe his response is

going to be outrage, insult. And he would throw

him out of his office, bound in chains to disappear

and never be seen again. Yet, that didn't happen

in Nineveh. The Assyrian king, the most powerful

person in the known world, why would he fear

the God of an already conquered people? Because

notice, he changed his heart. He heard the truth,

declares a fast. In the entire city. Imagine

hundreds of thousands of men, women, children,

even animals, turning back to God. The revival

was so great, it reminds us that no one is too

far gone from the God of second chances. No king,

no slave, no nobody. None of you are too far

gone to experience the mercy of God. Doesn't

matter what you've done, what you said. It doesn't

matter how many times it happened just this week.

You cannot out -sin God's grace. Our God is a

God of second chances. Now see, one of the mistakes

that we constantly make about this book, unfortunately,

is that everybody talks about the miracle of

the fish swallowing Jonah. How does that happen?

How does he do it? Chris, is it true? Is it not

real? Is it just a story? Is it even possible?

That's what everyone focuses on. When in reality,

the miracle of the fish pales in comparison to

the miracle of revival in Nineveh. Scholars estimate

that anywhere from 120 ,000 to 600 ,000 people

turned back to God that one day. For reference,

the first great spiritual awakening, arguably

the greatest revival in American history, was

estimated to reach 30 ,000 to 50 ,000 people.

That's one -tenth the size of what you just heard

about in Nineveh. There's not a revival in the

history of this world of this magnitude. The

turning of Nineveh may very well be the greatest

miracle in the history of mankind. It was a move

of God so large and so big That has inspired

me to realize if God can do it in Nineveh, he

can do it in the tri -state area. I don't know

if you heard this or not, but God has given our

community of faith an extra large vision. We

believe that God wants to use us to see the tri

-state area invaded with the kingdom of God in

a non -traditional way. Simply meaning this.

We believe God wants to use you and me. to saturate

the lives of our neighbors with the good news

about Jesus. In fact, we believe God wants to

use this community of faith to release revival,

if you will, through the hearts of the people

living in the quad state area from Virginia to

West Virginia into Maryland and all the way into

PA. We believe what God did in Nineveh, he can

do right here today. Because I know for a fact

that no one is too far gone for the God of second

chances. Because listen to what God did. Jonah

3 .10. When God saw what they had done and how

they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed

his mind and did not carry out the destruction

he had threatened. Nineveh repented and God relented.

He gave them a second chance and showered them

with mercy. And for many of us, We struggle with

believing that God gives us a second chance.

We are harsher critics of ourselves than God

ever is. That's the worst part about it. That's

just how we think. And that mentality, if you

believe that, leads you to thinking that God

is up in heaven somewhere looking to punish you

when you make a mistake. And that's just simply

not true. Because if you're in a relationship

with Jesus, God is living inside of you. He's

not somewhere up in heaven. He's living inside

of you and desires to draw close to you and constantly

release his mercy and grace. We read this in

Romans 116, for I am not ashamed of this good

news about Christ and his power of God at work,

saving everyone who believes, the Jew first and

also the Gentile. So if God is at work in our

lives every day, You have to be willing to step

out. You have to be willing to not be ashamed

of Jesus and his good news. We have to be willing

to serve, to volunteer, to be the light to this

community. I mean, believe me, I serve a lot.

I mean, one of the biggest struggles right now,

think about this. I've shared with you before

about our local little league. I happen to be

the president and a coach and an umpire. But

the biggest struggle that we're facing right

now, listen to this, is for parents to volunteer

in a concession stand one time. One time for

a four -month season. How many times? One time.

And they argue with you. And they say, we're

not going to do it. And they say, have high schoolers

do it. Pay someone to do it. We don't want to

do it. And I'm like, and I don't want to judge

them, but it's like, that's just our culture.

No one wants to do anything. No one wants to

do anything. And you know the worst part about

it? I'm going to step on your toes in a second.

Just warning you to prepare your heart. Half

of you don't do anything. I know. Because I know

who serves in our church. So we laugh about volunteers

in the local little league. And we don't even

volunteer here. We don't even serve here. And

I've said all along, if you can't serve here,

your light's not going to shine out there. You

might want it to. But if you're not serving in

here, this is gonna be your light out there.

And you know what that is? That's religion. And

I want nothing to do with it. I want nothing

to do with that. I wanna be a people that serves

and that are lights to the world. And I wanna

invite you. Stop making excuses. Get involved.

Do something. Because we need you and the world

desperately needs you. And it doesn't just start

with serving, Colossians 4, 6. Let your conversation

be gracious and attractive so that you will have

the right response to everyone. See, I believe

God, the Holy Spirit orchestrates opportunities

for us to share our messes with others. Our mess

has become our message so that others can relate,

identify, connect, and then come into a loving

relationship with Jesus. But we have to be willing

to talk. And you say, Chris, what do I talk about?

Talk about your mess. You don't have to say anything

about the Bible. You don't have to quote scripture

to tell your story. And you say, how do I do

that, Chris? Well, you talk about your mess.

How you got to a point in your life where you

met Jesus, what that experience was like, and

how your life is now. And then as you tell that

story, that mess is attractive because people

relate to it because everybody's in a mess. Are

you willing to step out and be obedient? Which

leads us to our one action step. What is God

trying to show us through all this? Well, here's

the reality. Every chance from God demands a

choice from you. Every chance given to us from

God demands a choice from us. When God saw that

they had done and how they had stopped their

evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry

out the destruction he had threatened. They turned.

So God relented and didn't bring on the destruction

that he had threatened. It's incredible. Remember,

one of the greatest miracles to ever be recorded

in the Bible. They repented and it simply means

they turned from their ways and God relented.

And whenever they turned to him, God took back

his threat to destroy them. And in the very same

way, he reveals his mercy and grace to us when

we mess up again and again and again. How many

of you have a mess up again story? Okay, a few.

Can the rest of you take off your halos and be

honest? You know that. God, I'm never going to

swear again. Only to have someone cut you off.

You know. Put your hand up. God, I'm never going

to yell at my kids again. Yep, put your hand

up. Only to lose your temper. God, I'm not going

to listen to those negative voices telling me

I'm worthless and no good. Only to be in a month

-long depression. God, I'm not going to be hateful

or negative and then you catch yourself on social

media. God, I'm never going to be critical. I'm

not going to do it anymore. I'm not going to

look at that. I'm not going to be mean to my

spouse. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. What

are we doing? What are we doing? Scrubbing the

stain. Oh, for those of you who can't see. Here's

the great news. When you mess up, Jesus joins

us in that mess. Isaiah chapter 30. So the Lord

Isaiah 30 · chapter mention

must wait for you to come to him so he can show

you his love and compassion. If you're in relationship

with him, go to him. For the Lord is faithful.

Blessed are those who wait for his help. Remember,

our God is a God of second chances. And in the

New Testament, we read about another preacher

from a small town in Galilee sent on a rescue

mission, but this time for all humanity. Jesus

came from heaven to earth to die for you and

me. Not for some cleaned up version of yourself.

No, he came and died for you just as you are.

God paid the price for our sins so that we can

be accepted and welcomed into God's family. And

there was this moment in Matthew 12 when Jesus

was trying to explain the significance of this

moment to the Pharisees. And he says this in

Matthew 12, 41. The people of Nineveh will stand

up against this generation on judgment day and

condemn it. For they repented of their sins at

the preaching of Jonah. Notice what Jesus says.

Now someone greater than Jonah is here, but you

refuse to repent. See, Jesus is challenging the

Pharisees and the people of Nineveh responded

to one of the worst sermons ever recorded. And

now you're hearing truth spoken from the very

mouth of God. Will you respond? And it's the

same question that he says to us when we gather

together. Jonah preached death and destruction.

Jesus said, I'm going to die for you. Jonah preached

without hope. Jesus says, I am the hope of the

resurrection. Jonah's message didn't mention

a second chance. Jesus is all about second chances.

And he's offering the same to us today. Your

past doesn't define you. Your mistakes just this

past week is not who you are. Jesus joins in

our mess and gives us a second chance. Will you

stand with me? So listen, we're gonna pray a

simple prayer and it's not that prayer. It's

another prayer. I want to lead you through a

simple prayer where you can lay down whatever

it is that you brought into this place. Because

I believe God wants to release, dare I say, a

spirit of revival in our people. Because see,

so many of us, listen, so many of us, we become

crippled in our faith because of this. We allow

the stains in our life to influence and impact

our relationship with Jesus. And then we're useless.

Because we constantly focus on the stain. And

the Bible very clearly tells us that God forgives

us as far as the East is from the West. That,

you know, though our sins are like crimson, now

they're what? White. And I'm not telling you

to justify your actions to go out and just keep

sinning and ask for forgiveness. I'm not telling

you that. I'm telling you to stop beating yourself

up when you make a simple mistake. When you fall

into temptation, when you say the wrong word,

when you just quickly go to God, ask for forgiveness

and go to the person and extend them forgiveness

and receive forgiveness and then move on in your

relationship with Jesus and change the world.

Stop being stuck in your seats. That's boring.

Seat sitting is boring. Like, let's get out there

and get dirty. Get our hands dirty. Right? See,

the prisoner's set free and the blind healed

and the lame walk. Like, that's Jesus' mission.

He's living inside of us. Let's go be that mission

to the world, church. Stop making excuses. I

don't want to hear them. I hear enough from my

softball team and my baseball team and everything

else. Stop making excuses. All right. So we're

going to pray a simple prayer, and I'm going

to leave a blank where you can lay down where

you need a second chance, whatever that is. Let's

pray together. Jesus, I choose as an act of my

will. To lay down. Forgive me, God. I believe

and receive your grace and your forgiveness.

Empower me to move on and change the world. In

Jesus' name. There you go, you're free. You're

free. Oh, it's that easy, Chris? Yeah, it's that

easy. You can do that at home on Wednesday when

you need a second chance. Just saying. Now we're

going to pray a simple prayer as I always do

because I believe people need to be given the

opportunity to come into a relationship with

Jesus. We all prayed it together. It's a safe

place. We're not going to ask you to raise your

hand. I'm not even going to ask you to come up

front. I'm just going to pray with you and I'm

going to welcome you into our community of faith.

Welcome home. Those of you who pray this prayer,

let's pray together. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full

of doubt, shame, regret, sin. Change me. Forgive

me. I believe you're God's son. I believe you

died for me. I believe you're alive today. Make

me new. Set me free. Fill me with your spirit.

Help me, God, to serve others. In Jesus' name,

amen. All right, listen. Hold on before you go.

Two things. If you struggle understanding the

love of God, Rudy is doing a class tonight, 5

o 'clock, 5 to 6 .30, month -long class on the

love of God and walking and experiencing that.

Okay, so if you're looking for that, want to

experience that, be here tonight at 5. There

are several words of knowledge. You have shoulder

pain in the outer part of your right shoulder.

You have painful upper part of the femur bone.

I don't even know what that is, but whatever

that is. You have swollen tonsils. You have hip

pain in your left hip. You're a pain in the neck.

That could mean a lot of things for a lot of

you. So in other words, some of you really need

prayer. Wow. And you currently are battling and

struggling with the temptation of homosexuality.

So if any of those are you, our prayer team will

be on my left and my right to pray with you and

agree with you in prayer. I close out Jonah next

week with Jonah chapter four. And this week,

listen. I want to invite all of you, our entire

community of faith, to go through a devotional

on the book of Jonah. It's seven days. You can

scan the QR code on your chair or talk to them

at the Welcome Hub to be a part of it. I think

it would be powerful for us all to go through

Jonah together. Amen? All right. See you guys

next week. God bless you guys. Turn water into

wine Please fix my heart and the things inside