Your Bibles turn with me to the book of Second
Chronicles. Ah, Second Chronicles. Is this on?
Is this me? Is that you? Can you hear me? How
many can hear me? And how many glad you hear
me? Okay, that's a lot less of you right there.
So, all right, Second Chronicles chapter number
28, if you will. We're gonna look at King Ahaz.
And really the theme of the story here is what
do you do when God gives you a second chance?
Man, have you ever messed up royally? And oh
yeah, and I remember I became pastor here in
2009, and God's blessing, God's blessing. We
get into 2010, I remember we broke 100 for the
first time, and I was excited, we had scheduled
revivals, and then 2010, right around the Thanksgiving
time, we had a huge. Thanksgiving turkey giveaway,
and Brother Randy McMain, and he preached in
one over the fellowship hall, and I preached
over in the auditorium. We had cars everywhere.
There were 450 people here. We were running about
110 at that time. It was an amazing Sunday, but
also sort of a chaotic Sunday. That Monday, we
had ran out of turkeys. We delivered turkeys
all over Hampton Roads. And Thanksgiving time,
it was busy. I'd scheduled a revival with an
evangelist on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
in early December. And I remember me personally,
you know, I was a little wore out. And I thought,
well, you know, we're having a revival. And I
really, I didn't make much of an effort to tell
people about it. I didn't make an effort to print
any flyers for it. And you ever have that where
the Holy Spirit's nudging you, you need to do
this, you need to, and I'm early in the pastor,
and I basically, and I hate to say it, but I
said, no, it's been busy, and I said no to God.
And I remember that revival came, and the evangelist
was there, and he'd asked me for a few things,
and he got there, and he got upset with me. and
I remember it, I remember his upsetness with
me, and I remember thinking, you know, I deserve
this, this is terrible. Then we had a sessions
on that Thursday, I remember the sessions Thursday,
we had like 15 people come, and I remember I
thought, this is bad enough, evangelist, he's
upset with me, I don't blame him, and I know
God's not happy with me, and then I remember
that Friday, and Mrs. Nettis, I will never forget
that. My son Daniel was born So I had to go to
the hospital on Friday I think I left you brother
Mike there to handle everything to God be the
glory and At the end of it. It was the most miserable
revival services that we ever had at our church
I I thought God was gonna like take a elect,
you know, one of those lightning bolts and and
zapped me my my career as a pastor was done and
But here's the thing God gave me another chance.
God gave me another chance. I went to the Lord.
I confessed my sin. I confessed my weakness.
I don't know if I've ever really told you much
about this, but I remember just saying, God,
I'm sorry if you give me another chance. When
we have a revival, I'm gonna work. I'm gonna
try. I'm gonna lead. I'm gonna do everything
I can. I'm not gonna be lazy. But I think about
God gave me a second chance. God gave me a second
chance. How many of you would say God's given
you a second chance? Praise God for that second
chance. Now, the thing is, it's not the last
time I've ever failed him, but when God gives
you another chance, what are you gonna do with
that another chance? We're gonna look at King
Ahaz. He's gonna royally mess up, and then you're
gonna notice God gave, God who's merciful, God
gave him another chance. But we're gonna look
what Ahaz did in that second chance. Let's stand
for the reading of God's word. We're gonna read
2 Chronicles chapter 28. We're just gonna read
one verse, verse number one. Let's read it all
together. 2 Chronicles 28, verse number one.
Are you ready? Ahaz was 20 years old when he
began to reign. And he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem,
but he did not that which was right in the sight
of the Lord like David his father. He did not
that which was right in the sight of the Lord.
Now, there's a lot in there. He was 20 years
old when he began to reign. His father was Jotham,
the chapter before. He began to reign when he
was 25 years, and his father reigned for 16 years.
Here, he's 20 years age, and the Bible says he
reigned for 16 years. Both reigned 16 years,
but Jotham did that which was right in the sight
of the Lord, but his son Ahaz Ah, he royally
messed up. He did that which is not right in
the sight of the Lord. And really the title is
What Do You Do When God Gives You A Second Chance?
Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Dear Father in
Heaven, we love you. And I pray that you help
us to remind ourselves about King Ahas. Help
us to see these truths. And I do believe even
right this moment, there is really the hand of
your mercy being given over to somebody even
tonight. and they've got another chance. And
I pray that you help them to learn from King
Ahaz and make some decisions even tonight. And
then, Lord, I have no doubt we're all gonna need
another chance. We're sinful, we sin against
you, and I pray that you help us when we get
to that point when you extend that hand of mercy,
help us to reach out and make the most of it.
We love you, Lord. We need you in Jesus' name,
amen. You may be seated. Oh, look back with me
at chapter number 27. King Jotham in chapter
number 27, verse six, it says, so Jotham became
mighty because what? He prepared his ways before
the Lord his God. Okay, we're just getting in
the message tonight, but King Ahaz, his dad was
Jotham and his dad was a mighty man. He was mighty
because he prepared his heart to live for God.
He was a mighty man, a mighty man. Imagine your
dad. a mighty man of God, living for God, serving
God. And wow, imagine you're Ahaz, you're a child
of the king. You're a child of the king. Imagine
all of a sudden, you're 20 years of age, and
next thing you know, your dad suddenly dies,
and next thing you know, next thing you know,
you have a chance to be the king of Judah right
there. But before we get to that, a child of
the king. Let me read this to you. Behold what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon
us. that we should be called the sons of God.
Do you realize in Revelation chapter 19, it talks
about Jesus Christ. He is the King of kings and
Lord of lords. How many of you have been saved
by the blood of the crucified one? Man, you're
a child of the King. You're a child of the King.
Man, live. Wow. When we realize you're a child
of God, Boy, when you believe on him, as many
as received him to them became become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name.
You became a child of God, a child of the King,
and let's rejoice in being a child of the King.
Ahaz is something good, but we had something
far better. We're a child of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and that is blessing. Now, a child of the King,
look at verse number one again with me, chapter
28, verse number one. Ahaz was 25 years old when
he began to reign. Look at verse two. For he
walked, he walked. in the ways of the kings of
Israel and made also, what's that word? Molten
images for Balaam. Now, in my imagination, I
was trying to think Molten. He had some people
in the kingdom begin to melt metal. and they
begin to form and fashion these idols, these
images, and they did that for the wicked god
Baal. Baal worshipers, remember the Baal worshipers
where they're cutting themselves, and Baal's
a false god, Baal's not real. And here, imagine
as you begin to travel around the southern kingdom
of Judah, right over there in Jerusalem, there's
the temple, there's the temple mount, there's
the Mount of Olives. The next thing you know,
you're walking around, you begin to see it's
sort of normal. There's molten images in the
city. There's molten images around the countryside.
You begin to look at these molten images. That's
wicked. And in my notes when I said, you're a
child of the king, Ahaz. You're a child of the
king. What are you thinking? Hey, Ahaz, no, don't
do that. Hey, Ahaz, knock it off. How are you
allowing this? It was his life. He began to make
decisions where he made molten images. For Balaam,
look at verse 23, it gets worse. Moreover, he
burnt incense in the valley of the son of what?
Hinnom. And, it's hard to even believe that this
is written. And burnt his children in the fire
after the abominations of the heathen whom the
Lord had cast out. before the children of Israel.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. It's hard to read that. Imagine
you're a son of Ahaz. Hey son, come with me.
And all of a sudden they go to the valley over
there and he begins to offer up his child, his
flesh and his blood and begins to put, now that
wasn't a pretty sight. The child died, and we
begin to look at that. Can I just say, hey, hey,
hey Ahaz, you're a child of the king. What are
you thinking? No, don't do that. Hey Ahaz, what
are you thinking? No, don't do that. By the way,
you ever thought about you and me? Sometimes
we do stupid stuff. We sin against the Almighty
God, and we can almost see God looking down and
say, hey, hey, you're a child. You're my child,
no. Don't do that. It wasn't just one child.
It says children. Look at this in verse number
four. He sacrificed also and burnt incense in
the high places and on the hills and under every
green tree. He began to offer. burnt incense
to these false gods, and it became the normal
way of Judah, sinning against God, sinning against
the creator, sinning against the God that he
should love. There's the temple, there's the
house of God, there's priests in the land, there's
prophets in the land, and he's going against
the way of his father, Jotham, and he begins
to sin in a great way. He transgresses against
the Almighty God. Now. Oh, prone to wonder, Lord,
I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. You
ever been there? You ever take a step away from
God? And then all of a sudden you realize what
you're doing. What have I done? What have I done?
What have I done? You ever been there? You ever
done that? We've all done that. And here he is,
he's going to extremes. I pray to God, none of
you have ever sanctified your children. Praise
God that you pray to God that you're not building
or making Bolton images to Balaam. And we think,
hey, hey Ahaz, no, don't do that. Now here's
the truth. When we get to that point, we take
steps away from God. Think about it, you take
a step away from God, another step away from
God, next to the step away from God, next to
the step away from God, there's something waiting
for you. That direction away from God leads to
God's judgment. Look with me at verse number
five. Wherefore, say that word, look at verse
five. Wherefore, the Lord. Wherefore, think about
it. Because of what you've done, because you've
transgressed against God, because you've made
those molten images, wherefore the Lord, his
God, delivered him into the hand of the king
of Syria. And as you begin to look at this, and
it says, and they smote him. and carried away
a great multitude of them captives and brought
them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into
the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him
with a great slaughter. And you begin to read
this. And look at verse number eight. And the
children of Israel, this is the northern kingdom
of Israel, carried away, captive to their brethren,
200 ,000 women, sons, and daughters. and took
also away much spoil from them and brought the
spoil to Samaria. Part of the message, we're
getting there, and it's not really a message
about this, but when you get away from the Lord,
you have a lot to lose. And the blessing of the
Lord, it's good, it is so good. When you're under
the blessedness of the man that walketh not in
the counsel of the Lord God, you're under the
blessing of God, the hand of God. God's saying,
hey, that's my boy, I'm gonna take care of the
protection of God, the guidance of God. The blessing
of the Lord that maketh rich. And when you step
away from that, you begin to take God's hand
of judgment and He puts it on you. He takes that
protection away from you. And the next thing
you know, you've got the Syrians. They're attacking.
You've got the northern kingdom of Israel. It's
a miserable life. The most miserable people in
the world, I believe, are people who have been
saved by the blood of the crucified one who walk
away from God. The chastisement of God. Hebrews
chapter number 12. The least happy people in
the world. Oh, I'm happy. No, actually you may
smile but on the inside you're hurting because
you no longer have the blessings of God and and
boy the blessing Hey, don't take for granted
children teenagers. Don't take for granted the
Christian home that you have Don't take for granted
that you have the privilege to come to church,
not only on Sunday morning, but you have the
privilege. It's not a right, it's a privilege
to come to church on a Sunday night. Hey, don't
take for granted the privilege you have to tell
people about Jesus. Don't take for granted the
privilege you have to sing in that choir, that
great choir, or play in the orchestra, or be
an usher, or even work with those vicious little
children in the nursery. And trust me, those
kids in the nursery, they're vicious. Vicious,
but thank the Lord for that. It's still a blessing.
It's a blessing to serve the Lord. It's a blessing
to serve the Lord. And I think of the dear people
in our church, the sacrifices you've made. and
just how hard you work to try to serve the Lord
in so many different ways. And God sees that,
it's work, sometimes you get tired, but there's
such fulfillment in giving your life and really
trying your best to live for God. Now, this is
a side note, and I wanna mention this, we as
a church, one of the reasons I believe we are
blessed as a church, this is just a side note,
but one of the reasons we're blessed as a church,
can I say a little side note, so it's not really
a sermon, but one of the reasons we're blessed
as a church, because as a church, Baptist wants
to fulfill the great commission and tell a lost
and dying world about the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I praise God. Saturday, Brother Mike, think
six people got saved. To God be the glory. And
I hear about that on Thursday night. Every Thursday
night, people getting saved. The ladies, they
go soul winning. The ladies go soul winning.
Twice a month. And the ladies go out there and
almost every time somebody gets gloriously saved.
Heard a preacher recently said 50 years ago,
in a Bible -believing church, I think the statistic
he said was 64 % of the people in that Bible
-believing church were regularly giving out the
gospel. They would be, 64 % would regularly go
out there, they'd grab gospel tracts, and they
would notice people as they went and try their
best to tell them about Jesus. Now, in the preaching,
here's what he said, I don't know where he got
this, but he said it's different today. He says
in a Bible -believing church, a Bible -believing
church like Chesapeake Baptist Church, It's not
64 % anymore, it's 6%. Well, what does that mean?
Okay, I pray it convicted me because I want to
say, no, no, no, no, that's not the way it is
at Chesapeake Baptist Church. I hope not. But
just imagine this. What does that mean when you
go 64 % to 6 %? That means some people are stepping
over here and stepping over here. And when we
step away from God, what does that mean? Lead
to. It doesn't lead to the blessing of the Lord.
And one of the reasons we're very blessed at
our church is because we regularly get out the
gospel. We at least try. We at least try. We
at least try. Well, I was convicted. And I thought
about it. I try to carry gospel tracts. I try
to tell people about the Lord. I was in the store
yesterday, and boy, I'm at the crazy Mother's
Day store. There's people everywhere. There's
a long line. I talked to the guy behind me. He
wasn't really interested. There's a naval officer
who's right there, and the Lord began to prick
me to talk to him, and he was busy. He's rung,
scanning, scanning, scanning. I said, hey, thank
you for your service. He looked and he said,
ah, you're welcome, and turned away. He left,
and I didn't give him a gospel track. And the
Lord has beaten me up a little bit about it.
You should have talked to him. And on the way
out, I checked out real quick. I said, Lord,
help me see him in the parking lot. Help me see
him in the parking lot. I stepped out in the
parking lot. I'm looking for him. He was parked
right next to my car. So I ran up to him yesterday,
and all of a sudden, as I'm running out there,
he starts pulling up. I said, stop! Roll down
the window. He's like this. I said, roll down
the window. And at least I tried. I tried, I
gave him a gospel track, and I think that's what
God wants us to do. He wants us to try, try,
try. Some of you, now please forgive me, this
is not the message, but it's important. As a
church, you like the blessings that you get at
our church. You like the blessings, and I like
the blessings, but come step back in, take a
step back toward God, grab you some gospel tracks,
and look for people that you can tell about Jesus,
maybe your friends and your family. Show up for
soul winning. Show up for soul winning. We don't
ask much. I really wish you'd at least come once
a month for Super Saturday Soul Winning. We had
almost 100 people there. But show up. Make an
effort. Well, Pastor, I don't like that. Well,
I don't like people dying and going to hell.
I don't like it. And that's the reality. We're
called as a church. The Great Commission is not
a suggestion. It's a command from the Almighty
God. It's important for us to step close to the
Lord. The blessing of the Lord maketh rich. But
as we step away and we step away and we begin
to serve other idols, the message that Ahaz is
preaching to or being preached at today is being
preached to us today in so many different ways.
But here's what it is. God's merciful. Look at
verse number nine. God's merciful. But a prophet
of the Lord was there whose name was what? Odead.
I sort of like Odead. Now, I think we got like
several ladies in the church, like four or five
or six or seven or eight or I don't even know,
but are about to have babies. I think Odead's
a great name. I think great, great. We don't
have any Odeads, but I mean, Odead might work.
Okay, look at this, was Odead, and he went out.
before the host that came, remember the 200 ,000,
200 ,000 are coming out of, they're coming out
of Judah and they're going into Israel. But look,
it says, behold, here's what he says, behold,
because the Lord God of your fathers was wroth
with Judah, that's the southern kingdom, he hath
delivered them into your hand, he's preaching
to the children of Israel. and you have slain
them in a rage that, in a rage, this is a wild
sentence, the children of Israel, you have slain
them in a rage, in a rage that reacheth up in
unto what? Wow, what a statement. He's preaching
to the children of Israel, the northern kingdom.
They're bringing the, they want a victory. God
allowed that victory, God's judgment on the southern
kingdom. He's bringing them up the north, these
women and children, and all of a sudden, God
sent the prophet and said, it's a rage, what
you're doing. You're doing more than I wanted
in that judgment. You're taking more upon you,
and the rage is reaching up into heaven. And
that's what the prophet's saying. And there's
so much more to this story than that, but wow,
wow, wow. Look at verse number 10. and now ye
purpose to keep under the children of Judah and
Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you,
but are there not with you, even with you, sins
against the Lord your God? Now hear me therefore,
and deliver the captains again." There's so much
we're not gonna read the whole thing, but what
was the result? The preacher preached the word.
He preached the word to the northern kingdom
of Israel. Verse 12, then certain of the heads
of the children of Ephraim. Always remember that
Ephraim is another word for the northern kingdom
of Israel. The children of Ephraim. Now look
at this name. Azariah, the son of Johanan. Barakiah,
the son of Mesh -le -moth. And Jehazakiah, the
son of Shalom. And Amesa, the son of Hadaliah.
That's a lot of names right there. How did you
do when you pronounced those? For the hell of
gray, it didn't sound like you did too good.
I tried, I tried. It's embarrassing when I have
to try. Thank you very much for that mercy. But
look at this, stood up against them and came
from the war and said to them, ye shall not bring
the cat. What you're seeing here, you're noticing
that some people listen to the preaching. And
what they ended up doing is by the time you get
to verse number 15, look at this, and the men
which were expressed by name rose up and took
the captives. You gotta see verse 15, here's
what they did. And I want you to, as we read
this, this is God's mercy. God sent a preacher.
God had mercy on the southern kingdom of Judah
because God loved Ahaz. God loved the children
of Judah very much. And it says, and arrayed
them. and shod them, this is halfway through
verse 15, and gave them to eat and to drink,
why did they give them to God's mercy, and anoint
to them God's mercy, and carried all the feeble
of them on asses, that's God's mercy, and brought
them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, that's
God's mercy. The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to. and plenteous in mercy, it says in the
book of Psalms. Psalm chapter 86, for thou, Lord,
art good and ready to forgive and plenteous in
mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Psalm
136 verse one, oh, give thanks to the Lord, for
he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. God
is a merciful God. When you read that story,
whether you understand it or not, God was being
merciful to Ahaz. He's saying, hey, Ahaz, hey,
nation of Judah, hey, you messed up. But I love
you, I care for you. What he's saying is I'm
gonna give you a second chance. I'm gonna give
you a second chance. Man, that's a gift. A second
chance is a gift of God. It's a gift of God.
And God is merciful, God is merciful. He treats
us better than we deserve to be treated. And
praise God for a second chance. Praise God. What
do you do, by the way, what do you do when God
gives you a second chance? That's the sermon.
When God gives you a second chance, are you gonna
run back to Him? When God gives you a second
chance, are you gonna humble yourselves a has
hey when God gives you a second chance Are you
gonna use your life for him when God gives you
a second chance and he begins to speak to your
heart? Are you gonna listen to God this time?
When God brings you out of trouble, are you gonna
stay out of trouble? Hey, when God gives you
room to repent and change your mind, are you
gonna turn around? When God gives you another
chance, are you gonna look to Him and look to
Him as the author and finish your faith, ask
forgiveness and move to a life that lives for
Him? What do you do when God gives you a second
chance? And this is powerful. Maybe it's just
preaching to me, but thank God for a second chance.
Thank God for a second chance. Now, what did
Ahaz do? Look at verse 18. At that time, at that
time of God's mercy, and think about when you
look at that word, at that time, that's the time
of God's mercy. At that time, what are you doing
at that time? What are you doing at that time,
teenager? Well, here's King Ahaz. At that time
did King Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria,
to help him. For again, the Edomites had come
and smitten Judah and carried away captives,
and the Philistines also had invaded the cities
and the low country. Now, look at verse 19, just
look at this. For the Lord brought Judah low,
why? Because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he made
Judah naked and transgressed sore against the
Lord. Hey, in that time of second chance, he
went further into sin. Here, God, all of a sudden,
is reaching out his hand of mercy and saying,
hey, Ahaz, come back, come back, come back. And
God extended his hand of mercy in a great way
right there. And Ahaz turned his back on God.
He began to, you read it, there's so much more
here, but he began to go to the Assyrians for
help. Look at verse 20. And Tiglath -Palyser,
king of Assyria, came unto him and distressed
him. Verse 21, and Ahaz took away a portion out
of the house of the Lord. He began to rob the
house of the Lord and give it away. And look
at verse 22, you gotta see this. This is an important
verse. And in the time of his distress, in the
time of his distress, did he trespass yet more
against the Lord. This is, that King Ahaz, I
put that really bold, this is, What's the life
of King Ahaz? When God's merciful to him, he
steps over here and goes farther away from God,
turns his back on God. This is that King Ahaz.
This is that King Ahaz. And he sticks his thumb
and says, ah, puts his back against God. This
is that King Ahaz, a rebel. This is that King
of Ahaz despising the mercy of God. This is that
King Ahaz who sinned against God. This is, I
don't want to be like that. I don't wanna be
like that. A second chance wasted. A second chance
wasted. A second chance. Don't waste your second
chance. Look at this. This is the reality. Verse
number 27. And Ahaz slept with his fathers and
they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem,
but. They brought him not into the sepulchres
of the kings of Israel. You know, Ahas died.
At the end of it, after 16 years, God's mercy
was there. He ran from God and things got worse
and worse and worse and worse. And really, I
should have mentioned, this is important. When
he went away from God, it wasn't just him that
he affected. Do you realize he affected a lot
of people? He hurt the whole kingdom. Men, women,
boys and girls. They had to live in a land that
had molten images, live in a land that offered
incense to these false gods. And Ahaz, the reality
is after 16 years at 36 years of age, how many
of you here are 36 or younger? Raise your hand.
36 or younger? Wow. How many are older than 36?
Okay, if you're here, you're dead. He died. And
you think about this, what happened when Ahaz
died? Well. The reality is, he has never got
away with his sin. It's a fearful thing to fall
in the hands of the living God. So then every
one of us shall give an account of himself to
God. In Numbers chapter 32 verse 23, be sure
your sin will find you out. Went to lunch with
the pastor this week. It was good, good food,
good fellowship. We're rejoicing in the Lord.
And I enjoyed the fellowship tremendously. And
about when we were about to go, the pastor looks
up to me and he said to me, he said, Pastor,
did you hear about so -and -so? I didn't bring
it up. So -and -so? Yeah, I did. It's very sad.
And you guys wouldn't know about it, but. He
knew about it and I didn't bring it up. I said,
it's very sad, but here's what I said to him.
God's a merciful God. God's a God of second chances.
The question is not if God wants him back, that
man who sinned greatly, it's what is he going
to do with the second chance? What's he gonna
do with the second chance? What's he gonna do
with the second chance? There was a man who grew
up in a Christian home and all of a sudden he
sort of, despised the preaching of God's word.
And on the sly, you might say, he started reading
books that he shouldn't read and looking at things
he shouldn't have looked. And slowly but surely,
his heart began to be hardened toward the things
of God. And next thing you know, he's out of
church, he's out of the will of God, he's just
like Ahaz stepping back and stepping back and
stepping back. And as he got farther away from
God, he began to be very antagonistic toward
Christians. He began to really go after anybody
and try to disarm people or take people away
from the faith of God. He lived a very wicked
life. As the years went by, the years went by,
God all of a sudden stuck his hand of mercy out.
He was near his home, his mom invited him to
a revival and he heard the preaching of God's
word and within three weeks, three weeks, This
man trusted Christ as a savior. He was given
a second chance. He's given a second chance.
And this man then all of a sudden realized, now
that I've got a second chance, what am I gonna
do with my life? Now, he could have been stuck
in the past. I messed up. He could have wallored
and wallored and wallored and wallored about
his sin. But he moved on to God's mercy. got
forgiveness from the Almighty God, began to go
away from anything that displeased God and got
into the Word of God and began reading it and
studying it and faithful, then he devoted his
life to giving the gospel out. God was merciful,
merciful, merciful to him. As he began to study
the word of God, God began to get a hold of his
heart. He became the pastor of the First Baptist
Church in Waco, Texas, back in the 1800s. And
he pastored that church for 30 years. And that
was back in the 1800s, early 1900s. That was
where Baylor University and he devoted his life
to giving the gospel and preaching and leading
people toward Jesus Christ. Why? Because he had
been perfect? No, because God is the God of second
chances. And really the answer is what are you
gonna do when you need a second chance? Are you
gonna run back to him? Are you gonna humble yourself?
Are you gonna say, God, give me another chance
and use me, use my life for you? Are you gonna
have a heart that listens to God? Or are you
gonna take another step away from God? And whatever
you choose is gonna make a big difference in
not only your life, but the life of many others.
Let's pray. Dear Father in heaven, we love you.
God, really, why did you give us that story of
King Ahas? I do believe the real reason is you
wanted to show us that you're a God of second
chances, and really, the sin and the consequences
of not taking that mercy or accepting that mercy.
I do pray, I pray tonight for that individual,
maybe for a few that are right now needing mercy,
and God, they need to hear that you are merciful
and you are merciful. and I pray that they come
back, humble themselves, and they write that
relationship. Pray for all of us, maybe sometime
in the near future, we'll take a step away from
you. Help us when we need that second chance
to run back to you in a humble way. I pray that
you help us to realize the devastation of sin.
When we sin against you and we keep on going,
it ruins families, churches, and it ruins lives.
Help us to come back to you, a merciful God.
We love you. In Jesus' name, amen. Stand with
me if you will. Piano and the organ are gonna
play and I encourage you to pray, pray.