Beyond Sunday
Welcome to Beyond Sunday, the Podcast that takes you deeper into the Word of God throughout your week, with your Host Pastor Lee Day.
It's Time to Inspire, Uplift, and dig deeper. Beyond Sunday starts now!
Beyond Sunday
Second Chances
Manasseh was just twelve years of age when he took the throne. He became wrapped up in idolatry and a broken life when he finally cried for help. Discover how grace pursues people who should know better but run anyway. The story moves from high places and pagan altars to iron hooks and chains, then to a humbled prayer that God not only hears but answers with restoration.
We share why a godly family can’t save you, why salvation is personal, and how warning is an act of love. Drawing on 2 Chronicles 33, Hebrews 3:15, 2 Timothy 2:11–13, and 1 John 1:9, we trace a full arc: God’s faithful call, our honest confession, and the real change that follows repentance. Manasseh does not stop at apology; he dismantles idols, rebuilds walls, restores worship, and leads people back to the Lord. That pattern matters for us too. True repentance shows up in habits, motives, and priorities. The cross stands as proof that God already made the first move—Jesus lived for us, died for us, and rose for us—so we can stop stalling and step into new life.
This conversation is for anyone staring down regret, nursing resentment, or wondering if they’ve gone too far. If God can cleanse the most infamous king, he can cleanse a modern heart weighed down by old choices. You’ll hear a clear invitation to respond today, not tomorrow, and a prayer to guide the first steps. Second chances are real, but they’re not a theory—they are a path back to worship, freedom, and steady change shaped by the Holy Spirit and Scripture.
If this message met you where you are, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so others can find these conversations. Your story isn’t over—ready to take your second chance?
What's going on, everybody? I am Pastor Lee Day, your host of Beyond Sunday, and I want to thank you for tuning in to this particular episode. This episode is going to focus on second chances. I don't know about you, but I'm a believer that we all need second chances. Matter of fact, I burned through my second chance a long time ago. And I'm sure you did as well. But thank God for another shot at life. Thank God for another shot at doing it better today than what we did yesterday. And I think everybody out there could say amen to that. We're going to jump right into it. If you got your Bibles open open up to the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 33, 2nd Chronicles chapter 33, just going to look at the first two verses here for a moment. It says, Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord God, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. It is said that of all the people in the Bible, Manasseh may have been the most wicked. I think about that. Out of all the people in the Bible, Manasseh may have been the most wicked. That's who we're dealing with today. And I want to show you that through the word of God, this man, this evil, low-down, dirty behaving individual, gets a second chance. And that should be encouraging to every person out there. And I'm going to show you in scripture that he does. This king of Judah, he was an idolater. This king of Judah, he turned against God. This king of Judah, he he worshiped every kind of pagan deity he could find. I mean, this was an evil man. He was guilty of immorality. He was evil, devoting himself to sorcery and witchcraft. He was a murderer. And he sacrificed, listen to this now. He sacrificed his own sons to a pagan god. Here's the thing about Manasseh. He knew better. And I need you to take hold of that thought here. He knew better. He was 12 years old when he began to reign as king. Imagine that. 12 years old, and you're now reigning in the position of king of Judah. His father, his name was Hezekiah. Okay? And his father, Hezekiah, was king before him. And here's the thing about Hezekiah, his daddy. Hezekiah was a godly father. He was a godly dad. And the third verse reminds us in 2 Chronicles 33, it tells us that Hezekiah was the one who had torn down the high places. So let's take a look at Manasseh's father, Hezekiah. Because the question could be asked, how in the world could Manasseh, such an evil person, have had such a godly example to follow and still end up so messed up. My friends, it's no different than our lives today when you consider it. If you have already received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, I say this. All you can do as followers of Jesus Christ is set the example for others to follow. Amen. It's up to those who see our example, it's up to those who see our walk to make the decision to follow after God or not. And so that's the deal here with Manasseh and his daddy Hezekiah. Hezekiah couldn't force his son into doing the right thing. You can't force your children, you can't force your grandchildren, you can't force your spouse, you can't force your friends or your coworkers or your employees, your boss, your supervisors, you can't force them into the faith. If you're listening and you've not yet received Christ as Lord and Savior, I want to remind you something. A saved family member cannot get you into heaven. A Christian spouse cannot get you into heaven. The only one able to get you into heaven is Jesus Christ. Can we all say amen to that? And it takes a personal, real relationship with Jesus to get you in, my friends. Today, here's the good news. You can let Jesus into your heart if you've not yet done so, should you choose. Hebrews 3, 15 says this. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. The truth is, no matter what you've done in life, God wants to save you. God wants to forgive you. God wants to heal your heart. God wants to give you another chance at life. And he does it all, my friends. He does it all by offering his son Jesus Christ to you right now. Now, listen to this. We've talked about Manasseh's sin. We've talked about just some of the evil deeds that he had done. And if that was all he had done, that was more than enough. I mean, it was terrible. It was terrible. We've taken a look, just a slight look, at his dad, Hezekiah, and that his dad was a godly man. He was king before his son Manasseh. But let's get back to the life of Manasseh for a moment. If you got your Bibles, I'm reading from 2 Chronicles, chapter 33, and the 10th verse. And this is what it says. The Lord God spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. And we've probably all been in that boat before if we're going to be honest with one another today. God has ministered to us, he's spoken to us by some way through his word or through somebody. And we we have not paid attention. Why? Because we were selfish in the moment. We chose flesh in the moment. But but here's the beautiful thing: God loves his people so much that he is willing to warn us even when we do not deserve the warning. Man, that's so good. That God is willing to warn us even when we do not deserve the warning. Now I want to remind you of something that I said at the beginning of this episode. Manasseh knew better. And you know better, and I know better than to do the things that do not bring honor and glory to God. But Manasseh knew better. He purposefully, he purposefully chose to do evil. And yet, watch this now. God loved him so much that he chose to warn him and his people. Oh, that that that that's like poetry, man. That is that is just so beautiful. That God still loved Manasseh so much that he wants to warn him. Here it is. Let's make it personal. God loves you and me so much that he wants to warn us. I want to read something from the book of 2 Timothy. If you got your Bibles, you can flip there. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 11, 12, and 13. Listen carefully to what it says. The saying is trustworthy. For if we have died with him, we will also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, now listen to this now. If we deny him, Christ, if we deny him, he also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. Oh my friends, look at the beauty of that right there. The 12th and 13th verse says, if we deny him, he also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful. Wow. The only reason I am here before you today in this episode is because of that verse right there. When I was not faithful to God in my life, he loved me so much. Amen. He loved me so much that he was willing to remain faithful to me and present Christ to my life and the need for salvation. Hallelujah. Thank you, Father God Almighty, for that. And the reason you're here listening to this episode right now is because even when you've been unfaithful, God has remained faithful to you. Oh, that is that is glorious. Every single person listening to this episode right now is the beneficiary of second chances, whether you realize it or not. And can we just say thank God for yet another chance? For some folks, right here, right now, this is your second chance. For some folks, you've already received another chance. Tomorrow, odds are we're gonna wake up and need to draw on another chance. But I encourage you, take hold of it today. Accept what God is offering. Accept it. Freely accept it. Freely He gave it. For you do not know the time when your second chance with God will also be your last chance. Did you hear that, my friends? Did you hear that? You do not know when your second chance with God just may also be your last chance. Now let's get back to 2 Chronicles 33 for a moment. Back to the 10th verse, although we're going to dig a little deeper this time. 2 Chronicles chapter 33, verse 10 through 13 says this. Therefore, the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze, and brought him to Babylon. And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God. Whew! Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that beautiful? God restored Manasseh. But here's the deal: Manasseh had to cry out to God first. Manasseh had to humble self. Manasseh had to had to repent. He had to turn from his evil, wicked ways and thinking, and he had to humbly cry out to God the Father. The hard-hearted here, the hard-hearted listening to this episode may argue, why should I have to cry out to God first? Maybe the wounded are thinking the same thing. Why should I have to cry out to God first? Maybe the stubborn are thinking, why should I have to cry out to God first? Why should I have to be the one to make the first move? After all, after all, if he is God, shouldn't he prove that he's real by coming to me? Well, let me give you the answers to all of those questions. The answer to those questions is this. He did prove himself. He did prove himself by coming. He already did prove himself to you, my friend. God himself sent his only begotten son down to this earth. And you say, Well, I know, Pastor, I know. No, no, no. Listen to me. Listen to the full statement that I'm about to make. God himself sent his only begotten son down to this earth for you to live for you, to die for you. And because, here it is, because he was the perfect sacrifice, he does not have to keep doing it every time a new generation comes upon to walk this earth. And that's good news. That means it worked. It worked, my friends. It worked. He is the perfect sacrifice. He doesn't have to keep coming back every 50 to 75 to 100 years and do it all over again. Once was enough. Paul says in Romans 5.8, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That's why Manasseh could be forgiven. You may be thinking, but he was an evil, wicked, vile, dirty sinner who even sacrificed his children. Yes, he was. Yes, he was. He was all of those things. He was all of those things. But God still remained faithful to Manasseh, even when Manasseh was not faithful to God. So rather than have our viewpoint stuck on the wickedness and idolatrous behavior of Manasseh, we should look on the holiness and the puren and the righteousness and the forgiveness and mercy and grace of God the Father and apply that to our lives. And everybody should say amen to that. Write this down if you're taking notes. God loved me first. Oh, yes, he did. God loved you first, my friends. He loved you first before you even knew to love him. He already gave you life on this earth. And he's speaking to your life right now by allowing you to hear this message from his holy word in this very ordained moment that God is offering every one of you listening another chance, myself included. Now, can we just give God praise for that? Amen. Hallelujah. First John 1 9 says this. 1 John 1 9. If we confess our sins, he God, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to watch this, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Not just a little bit of unrighteousness, not just small sins. No, no, no. All unrighteousness, all filthiness, all sin. For in the eyes of God, sin is sin. So Manasseh could be given a second chance. You can be given a second chance. I can be given a second chance. Your neighbor that you don't like deserves a second chance. Your parents who may have hurt you when you were little deserve a second chance. Those that you have a grudge against also deserve a second chance. I'm telling you, if if if if one of the most wicked men in the Bible deserved a second chance, then everybody in line deserves a second chance. Everybody in line deserves that second chance, my friends. Again, 1 John 1.9, listen to it. If we confess our sins, and that's what Manasseh did. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And even as I read that verse, I'm reminded of like this, this, this, this big hunting truck going down through the woods. And a lot of hunters, they myself included, uh, when when I used to hunt heavily, I would not wash my truck until the end of the hunting season. And it was kind of like it was kind of like this trophy. You know what I mean? You just, you're collecting mud, you're collecting mud, you're collecting dirt. And I'm just thinking of that image as 1 John 1.9 says, that God is willing to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And at the end of that hunting season, the hunters go and they they wash all that mud, all that filth, all that dirt and debris off the vehicle, making it look new again. And that's exactly what the blood of Jesus does in our life. We it washes us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness, all filth, all dirty things, and we're made new again in the eyes of God. Listen to me, friends. If if God could forgive the most wicked man in the Bible, surely he's willing to forgive whatever sin you may have in your life right now. And if God was willing to use a man like Manasseh, surely, surely God is willing to pick you up, cleanse you from your sin, and use you today for his glory. My friends, that's good news. Now, it doesn't stop there, but the life of Manasseh goes deeper, much deeper. And in 2 Chronicles 33, verses 14 through 17, let me just read to you what it says. Listen to what's happening in the life of Manasseh. Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David, west of Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into the fish gate, and carried it around Ofel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah, and he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had bought on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them, watch this, he threw them outside of the city. He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the Lord their God. When Manasseh got home, he knew he had to clean up the camp. The Bible tells us that he took away the foreign gods and idols and all of the altars he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. Now, when God saves you, he's faithful to change you. I need you to hear that. When God saves you, he's faithful to change you. Your desires change, your motives change, the way you love changes, the way you forgive changes, the amount that you forgive or you're willing to forgive is gonna change. Man, you everything's changing. And the reason everything changes is because you got something new on the inside of you when you accept Christ as Lord and Savior. When you're walking with Jesus, you got something new on your inside, it's the love of God. Now, for 1 John chapter 3, 1 through 8 says this. 1 John 3, 1 through 8. Listen closely. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. Amen. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Verse 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, verse 7 says, Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. And we could all say, Amen, praise God. Again, the end of the eighth verse says this the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3, verse 8. You see, if you want to spend eternity with God, my friends, if you want to avoid hell, you must be born again. Jesus Christ paid the price for every single one of us on the cross, and he freely offers salvation to every single one of us on this earth. Being born again is accepting Christ as Lord and Savior, and then allowing the power of God's Holy Spirit along with his word to move on the inside and work in our lives, creating the change, creating the change in you, causing you to look more and more like Jesus Christ every single day. Oh, thank God for second chances. Let's pray. Father, I pray in the name and the blood of Jesus that every one of us listening to this episode would just focus on the fact that we've been given another chance today. Another chance at life, another chance to be more like you today, another chance to do better today what we failed at yesterday. Father, I thank you for a second chance. God, I pray for the for the individual that may be listening that has not yet chosen your son Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that if they're ready for that chance, that they would take a hold of it right now and they would say a prayer like this between them and you. Father God, I thank you for the giving of your only begotten Son. I recognize, Father, that I am a sinner. And I ask you to come into my life and show me the way and the path in which I should go. Lord Jesus, I recognize that you died on the cross so that I could be forgiven of my sins. And I repent and I turn from my wicked evil way. And I ask you to come into my life and save my soul. Fill me, God, with the power of your Holy Spirit and create in me a hunger and thirst to be more like you in Jesus Christ's name and blood. Amen. My friends, God bless you. Continue to stay in prayer and stay in the Word of God. Until next time on Beyond Sunday. God bless.
