God is the God of second chances. Christ was sent to die for you before you even existed. Your past does not intimidate the God of the Universe. He can see through the corridors of time and he still loves you. Do you need a second chance? Christ is calling.
Audio Transcript
I believe that God is the God of second chances.
I remember when I was in high school and was just starting to really understand what it was to have faith.
I wasn't raised in a home where we went to church, and this and that... So I knew I had some past issues and I knew I was supposed to behave. I was one of those guys when I saw the pastor at Walmart I'd duck and I hid because I didn't think they were supposed to let him out of the church.
It was weird to see the church intersect with my life well when I started actually living out my faith I realized that I have a past and I don't know if I can carry that in. Some people have said this before - "I can't come to church. The church would fall down around me."
I've had a thousand... I'm not exaggerating. I think I've had a thousand people say that to me in about thirty years of ministry. Here's what I can tell you - we're good.
Nothing's ever shook to the ground. Your past does not intimidate the God of the universe. As a matter of fact, he knowing the end of days, sent His Son, Jesus, to die for you, knowing everything.
So not after you did it did he choose to look back and forgive you... before you did it he chose to forgive you because he knew who you were and what you would do. He still loved you.
And some of you say, "Yeah that may work for somebody else but God would never do that for me."
Here's what Jesus said - "No one comes unto the Father unless the Father draws them." And the very fact that you can hear my voice right now - whether it's on video or at one of our campuses - is a guarantee that you were put in this place and from the beginning of time God knew that your steps would it be ordained, that you would sit in that spot, that you would look with those eyes, that you would hear with those ears, whether you're wanting to or not, and in this moment he is presenting this message to you because he said no one comes to me unless I draw them.
There's no excuses. It's simply a matter of what am I gonna do with what's been put in front of me.
Watch the full sermon here.