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In 1991, the Buffalo Bills made it to the Super Bowl. They would = begin a=20 four-year journey which has been characterized by some sportswriters as = the=20 greatest "legacy of inferiority" in professional sports history.
The Bills faced the New York Giants in the 1991 Super Bowl. The game = was one=20 of the most exciting championship games the NFL has seen, with the = Giants=20 narrowly winning, 20–19. Undaunted by their heartbreaking loss to = the Giants,=20 the Bills returned that fall and pursued excellence once again in the = 1991=20 season. In January 1992, they entered their second consecutive Super = Bowl—only=20 to lose once again, this time 37–24 to the Washington Redskins. = One year later,=20 the Bills were in the playoffs once again. On January 3, 1993, in the = AFC Wild=20 Card game, Buffalo engineered the greatest come-from-behind victory in = the=20 history of the league, erasing a 35–3 second-half deficit to = defeat the Houston=20 Oilers 41–38 in overtime. Fans concluded, "Surely the gods are = smiling on=20 Buffalo this year! Surely our time has come..." Yet, four weeks = later, the=20 Bills were losers once again, humiliated 52–17 by the Dallas = Cowboys in the=20 second-most-lopsided Super Bowl ever played.
When the Bills returned to the Super Bowl for an unprecedented fourth = consecutive year in 1994, their opponent was the same as the year = before—the=20 Dallas Cowboys—and the result was the same, too: another loss, = 30–17. To date,=20 Buffalo is the world’s only professional sports team to lose its = sport’s=20 championship game four years in a row.
The Buffalo Bills were a football team who received one second chance = after=20 another—yet who somehow could never find a way to make their = second chances=20 count.
Are you making your second chances count? Consider a = Scripture=20 passage which reminds us of the simple, wonderful truth that God gives = second=20 chances—and of the sobering reality that each of us is held = accountable=20 regarding what we do with your second chances.
Read Romans 6:6-12
Let us consider three wonderful truths...
God will be faithful to give us second chances.
Verse 23 says, "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of = God
is=20 eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
The greatest joy that God knows is when one of His created children = comes to=20 Him and declares in humility, "Father, I have messed up my life. I = know that=20 only You can give me a second chance. I know that you are willing = to give=20 me a second chance. I want to receive your second chance."
Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that you aren’t in need = of a second chance.=20 You’ve analyzed, you’ve weighed, you’ve compared, and = you’ve concluded that,=20 relatively speaking, you’re not doing so bad. Yet, = Scripture declares=20 that "there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall = short of=20 the glory of God." "No distinction" means that it is silly and = pointless to=20 compare yourself to others, as if you can somehow convince yourself that = you=20 alone have no need of God’s grace.
We all need second chances. The lowest addict and the = highest=20 celebrity ... the poorest mother and the richest businessperson ... the=20 sheet-metal worker and the upper-class surgeon ... the greatest preacher = and the=20 man who’s never set foot inside a church. Every one of us = desperately=20 needs for someone to give us a second chance—and God is = faithful to do=20 so!
I can recount specific instances in my life when, in terms of = logic
and justice, I should not have received a second chance. = Realistically, on=20 more than one occasion, I should have died as a result of foolish = deeds.=20 Somehow— miraculously— God was faithful to make second = chances available to me!=20 He will do the same for you. I don’t know the past history of each = and every one=20 of you who are receiving these words—and I don’t want = to know, because=20 all the details really don’t matter now. What matters is = today and=20 tomorrow. And, the miracle of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that = today=20 can be a day of second chances. Tomorrow can be a day of = second=20 chances. Only God can do it—but God has done it.
Only by God’s power can we make our second chances count.
A couple of months ago I watched a deer run across the street near
my = home=20 and attempt to jump over a fairly tall fence. He didn’t make
it. = Dazed, he stood=20 still for a moment. Then, he backed up about fifteen
feet, then started = to run=20 again, and attempted to jump the same fence
again. Guess what? He = didn’t make it=20 the second time, either. A third
time he tried, and failed. Finally, he = wised up=20 and found another
way to get to his destination.
The deer failed the first time because his legs just weren’t = strong enough.=20 Well, his legs didn’t change any between the first jump and = the second=20 jump, did they? So, doesn’t it make sense that the second = jump failed,=20 just as the first jump had done?
In the same way, you may be ready today to leap up and grab hold of = the=20 second chance which God is giving you. You may be ready to live a = righteous,=20 obedient life as part of your "second chance." You may be ready to = rebuild some=20 damaged relationship as part of your "second chance." Remember this:=20 You are still ‘you.’ If your willpower = wasn’t sufficient=20 for the task the first time, there’s a great chance that it = won’t be sufficient=20 this time, either. You’re going to need some = help.
God wants to provide that help!
In 2 Corinthians 12:9 God says, "My grace is sufficient = for=20 you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." The = things=20 which you absolutely, positively can’t do are the opportunities = for God to do=20 His miracles. God can give you the power to do what you = couldn’t do. God can=20 give you the power to make right the things which you’ve = repeatedly messed=20 up.
Understand this, though: God doesn’t give us that power = automatically. He=20 doesn’t "throw" it at us. We have to go get it.
Where is it, then?
(Hold up a Bible.) Here...
(Kneel in a position of prayer.) ...and Here. =
If you are dead serious about turning some portion of your life = around and=20 accepting God’s second chance, then you’d better be dead = serious about seeking=20 God’s truth in the Bible and seeking God’s guidance and = provision in prayer!
If you will be diligent to "go get" the power which God has = made=20 available to you, you can turn your "second chance" into = something of=20 "first quality."
If we mess up our second chance, the fall will be longer and harder
= than the=20 first time.
There was once a group of rock climbers who tackled a particularly=20
challenging cliff face. The climbers were using ropes to protect = themselves
in=20 case of a fall. The rope would be fastened to each climber in the
group, = then=20 anchored into the rock crevices or cavities in the side
of the cliff = itself. If=20 you fall, then hopefully the rope will stop
you before you hit something = hard,=20 like the ground.
Now, falling is just part of life when you’re rock = climbing—that’s why=20 the ropes are so important. Rock climbers have several different slangs = to=20 describe the different types of falls they take. For example,
A "screamer" or a "whipper" is a very, very long fall. =
A "zipper" is a fall which is so hard that the force of = gravity rips=20 the rope away from one or more of the other climbers.
A "yo-yo" is a series of falls taken repeatedly while trying = to clear=20 the same portion of rock.
A "crater" or a "grounder" is a fall that ends with the = climber=20 hitting the ground. A climber who endures a "crater" or a "grounder" = will=20 generally succumb to a fatal illness known as R.D.S ("Rapid = Deceleration=20 Syndrome").
The slang of rock climbers suggests that they have a daring, even = mocking,=20 attitude toward death. Because they know (or hope, at least) that = the=20 rope will catch them in the event of a fall, they can joke, laugh, and = make up=20 funny words to describe what happens in a fall.
On this day, though, one of the climbers in the team fell from the = rock and=20 did a "screamer," a very long fall. When the rest of the team = pulled him=20 back up, they joked for a couple of minutes ("Great whipper, dude! = Thought=20 you were gonna do a crater that time...") They quickly realized, = though,=20 that their situation was nothing to laugh at, for upon closer inspection = they=20 realized that their protective rope had been almost completely frayed in = two.=20 Apparently it had gotten caught on a sharp piece of rock in the fall, = and the=20 act of pulling the fallen climber back to safety had rubbed the = rope’s fibers in=20 half. The climbers realized that the rope would be of no use in the = event of=20 another fall—it would break easily.
They realized at that moment that, in order to keep on climbing, they = would=20 have to climb "free solo"—which is the climbing slang for = climbing=20 without using any protective ropes. In "free solo" climbing, if = you fall,=20 you die.
The rock climbers’ rope represents the second chance of = which we’re=20 speaking. The great miracle of God is that, when you fall, he is willing = to=20 catch you. That’s why the Psalmist declared in Psalm = 94:18,=20 "When I thought, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your steadfast = love, O LORD, held me=20 up"! But, understand this: If you fall again, the fall will be = longer and=20 harder than before. And, as any rock climber knows, if you fall = far=20 enough... If your "screamer" turns into a = "grounder"... No=20 more second chances.
If God gives you a second chance to mend a broken relationship, and = you=20 "fall" again, the damage may be irreparable. That person may seal his or = her=20 heart off from any chance of future reconciliation.
If God delivers you from some dangerous habit or risky sin, and you = "fall"=20 again, it just may cost you your life the next time around.
The day upon which God gives you a second chance instantly becomes = the=20 most important day of your life! On that day, you choose whether to = stand=20 firm and keep on climbing in the power of the God who held up your foot = when it=20 was slipping, or whether to jump right back off the cliff again.
Conclusion
Make your second chances count!
Is there some relationship in your life—with a parent, a = spouse, a relative,=20 or a friend—that has been damaged because of your actions? I = believe that God=20 can give you a second chance at that relationship. Will you make = it=20 count?
Are there actions and deeds in your past of which you’re = ashamed? Actions for=20 which you are paying a steep price now? Perhaps you’ve convinced = yourself that=20 your life cannot have any meaning in the future because of what = has=20 happened in the past. Yet, God can give you a second = chance. He=20 can empower you to live a life that’s "dead to sin and = alive to God in=20 Christ Jesus." He can give you a future—a future whose = destiny is not=20 predetermined by anything that’s happened in your past. He can = give you a future=20 that doesn’t come with the "strings of the past" still = attached—that’s what it=20 means to speak of salvation and forgiveness as a "free gift" of = God=20 (Romans 6:23). Will you accept his second chance—and make = it count?
Is there possibly even someone in this room whom you’ve = shut out of=20 your life? Someone who, you concluded, wasn’t worth your time? = Someone who, you=20 thought, was silly, immature, ugly, or just different? Perhaps as = you=20 catch a glimpse of that person in these moments, this thought occurs to = you:=20 Maybe I was wrong. Maybe there is something there after = all—something that would be good for me. Perhaps you’d = like a second chance=20 to build a bridge and establish a relationship with that person. God = can=20 give you—and I believe that God will give you—that = second chance.=20
Will you make it count?
Consider two crucial verses from the book of Jeremiah.
In Jeremiah 29:11 God says, "For surely I know the plans = I have=20 for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, = to give=20 you a future with hope."
And, in Jeremiah 1:5 God says, "Before I formed you in the = womb I=20 knew you."
Even before you were born, God knew that on this day you’d be = in need of a=20 second chance—and two thousand years before you were born, God put = a plan into=20 action to make it possible for you to have that second chance. A = plan=20 which had at its center the perfect life, brutal death, and victorious=20 resurrection of Jesus Christ. The same Jesus who
was willing to look at a convicted felon dying on a cross next to him = and=20 declare, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." The same Jesus = who=20 looked down from the cross at the very soldiers who had nailed him up = there and=20 prayed to God, "Father, forgive them"!
Jesus is serious about giving out second chances. Will you be = equally=20
serious about receivin