The God of the Second Chance

By Gobel Brockman


     If you've been to Sunday School more than three times, I'd say there's a great chance you've heard the story of Jonah. You've seen the felt board cutouts of a guy in a robe being thrown in the water, then a big fish comes and swallows him up. He's in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, then God commands the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry ground. But I believe we need to hear the lessons he learned in that experience.

     "The word of the LORD came to Jonah, son of Amittai: Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it..." (Jonah 1:1)

     There are times that we feel we have no idea what God's will is for us. Jonah couldn't say that. He knew exactly what God wanted. Problem was, he didn't want to do it. We find later in the story that Jonah didn't want to preach to the people at Nineveh because he knew they would repent, and he didn't want them to. So he gets into a ship that's going in the opposite direction. But God sends a storm and causes Jonah to confess to the others that he is the reason for the storm, and their only hope is to throw him overboard. Then the fish comes and has a snack. The Bible says that from the belly of the fish Jonah prays a prayer of repentance. The fish vomits Jonah onto dry ground, and then what is to me the most interesting part of the story happens:

     "Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you."

     What does God do once Jonah repents? He picks right up where they left off. It's as if God was saying to Jonah, "OK, you took the long way around, and went through a lot that you shouldn't have, but you've came back to where you belong. Let's pick up and get going again." That speaks volumes to me for one simple reason - none of us have ever landed in a fish, but every one of us who proclaim to be Christians have failed God at points in our lives. It wasn't a matter of not knowing what to do, but like Jonah we knew exactly what we were supposed to do. We just didn't want to do it. So we went our own way, and paid the price for it. But when we do what Jonah did and realize that it was OUR sin that brought it on and repent, then we find the grace and forgiveness that only He can give us.

     I'm speaking to those who have failed. (In other words, I'm speaking to all of us.) Don't allow the devil to make you think that God has no further use for you. Don't get the mindset that your calling and service to God is over. It's not. Our God is the God of the second chance. Thankfully, He's also the God of the third...the fourth...you get the point. If you have failed, repent. Begin to follow Christ with a new passion, which happens when we invite Him into our lives. You'll find your purpose and calling are still there. When Jonah finally preached to Nineveh, it sparked a revival in that town. When we allow God's restoration in our lives, and submit our will to His, we'll be amazed at what He accomplishes through us.

     Simply put, God's grace is bigger than our failures. Man, am I glad for that....

"Look and Live"

By Gobel Brockman


     Several years ago I heard an evangelist tell a story. He and his wife had bought a new refrigerator. They had no use for the old one, so they set it out on the curb and put a 'FREE' sign on it. It sat for a week with no takers. He then told his wife, "I'm going to try something." He took down the 'FREE' sign and replaced with one that said '$25.00'. The very next day, someone knocked on his door and asked, "Will you take $20 for it?" 

     I guess the problem is that when we see something like that, our thought is, "If it's free, it obviously doesn't work." But then when we think we have to buy it, we try to get it as cheaply as possible. I think we treat God like that as well. He tells us that Jesus has paid the price for our salvation, and yet we continually try to earn it. However, it seems we also try to bargain with God so that we can give Him as little of our lives as possible. That simply shows just how skewed our view of Biblical salvation is.

     In the Old Testament book of Numbers, there's a story of the Children of Israel being blatantly disobedient to the Lord. As a result of their rebellion, God allowed venomous snakes to come into their camp, and thousands died as a result of the snakebites. But then God did an interesting thing: He told Moses to make a brass serpent and put it on a pole. He then told Moses to instruct the people, "If you are bitten, look at the brass serpent, and you will live." It was that simple: "Look and live." Jesus said this in John 3:14-15:

     "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever will believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

     Those are some of the most beautiful and powerful words ever spoken! The problem is that just like that free refrigerator, we can't seem to accept that it's really that simple. I was once asked to put the entire Bible into one sentence. My answer then is my answer now: "Jesus Christ and Him crucified." We don't have to earn our salvation, it's free. Yes, being a follower of Jesus Christ calls us to lay down our lives, take up our cross and follow Him, but that is the RESULT of our salvation, not the SOURCE. But my point this week is this: you and I will never do enough or ever be good enough to earn anything from God. His gift of salvation to us is free, and God's desire is that we all would be saved. We read this in 2 Peter 3:9:

     The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

     Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Look and live.

Get Filled, Get Lit, Get Going

By Gobel Brockman

     “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” - Luke 15:8-10

     In this parable, we actually see a vivid description of the world we live in. We read about a coin that has been lost in an obviously dark, dirty place. We also find o woman who recognizes the value of the lost coin, to the extent that she is willing to search until she finds it. Notice the first thing she does: she lights a lamp. That brings me to what Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16:

     “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

     Jesus is telling us in this parable that lamps aren’t lit to be hidden, they’re lit to help others see. Let me make it simple: if we are born again and filled with the Spirit of God, then we aren’t meant to remain “hidden” in Sunday morning church services; we’ve received the fire of the Holy Ghost so that others can see the light! We constantly hear news reports of horrible, tragic things taking place, and at times we may be tempted to ask, “Why doesn’t God do something?” As believers in Jesus Christ we need to remind ourselves that He HAS done something - He has given us His light! May we also remember that He has done so so that we may be a light in a darkened world.

     (A quick sidetrack to make a point that our parable in Luke 15 says that after the woman lit the lamp, the light didn’t “sweep the house” - the owner of the coin did. Just a point to ponder.)

     My thoughts this week are simply that our Christianity is meant to affect more than just how we spend our Sundays. We should be daily seeking the face of God in prayer, allowing Him to fill us with the power and fire of the Holy Ghost, and then allowing God to use us to shine in the darkness so that others can not only “see the light,” but that they can also see hope in Jesus Christ.

     May we (the church) get filled with the Holy Ghost, get lit, and get going. A darkened world desperately needs the light of Jesus Christ.

Hurry Up and Wait

By Gobel Brockman

     Nobody likes waiting. Especially today in our “Microwave Mentality” culture of instant gratification. Our lives get busy, and we need (or THINK we need) instant resolution to every situation. Unfortunately, we bring that same mentality into our Christian life. We pray and believe that if our faith is strong enough, the answer will come before we get to the “Amen.” There’s only one slight problem with that idea:

IT’S WRONG.

     The problem when we don’t get quick and easy answers to our prayers is that we are then tempted to feel as though our faith wasn’t strong enough, or that God has somehow let us down. We can then get discouraged and struggle with our faith in Christ altogether. It’s in these times that we need to remember a word that is mentioned in the Bible frequently, and it’s a word few of us like to hear:

“WAIT.”

     There are several Scriptures that mention this word. We read this in Isaiah 40:31:

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

     We also read this in Psalm 27:14:

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait, I say, for the Lord!”

     There’s a powerful lesson in these verses that we need to learn and apply to our lives. When we think of “waiting” on someone, we think of standing with our arms folded, tapping our feet, and checking our watches every 15 seconds. But the Hebrew word for “wait” (found in Strong’s Concordance) gives us a different perspective:

“h6960. קָוָה qâwâ; a primitive root; to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e. collect; (figuratively) to expect: — gather (together), look, patiently, tarry, wait (for, on, up)”

     What an interesting thought: “to bind together.” So instead of praying and then struggling with our faith if an instant answer doesn’t come, perhaps we are called to pray and then say, “Lord, I will bind myself to You until the answer comes, and even if the answer is delayed, and even if I don’t get the answer I wanted, I’m not leaving your side. My faith in You will not be shaken, and my life is Yours. I will love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind. My heart is bound to Yours.”

     May we all learn to truly “wait” upon the Lord. We will discover that our strength will indeed be renewed if we do.