Frankie Mazzapica - Chance and Coincidences
I’m excited about this message. It’s called «Chance and Coincidence.» Let me dive right into it right off the bat. Let me share with you Romans 8:28. Let’s read it together. I know it’s still early, but let’s read it together real loud. One, two, three. And we know -oh, hold on a second. Not everybody was reading, so we need to do it all over again. Come on, Dr. Ray! I’m going to do it over and over. All right. I love you. All right. One, two, three. And we know-let’s read two words together. The one that starts with an’A' on the first line and then the word behind it. One, two, three. Let’s just shout it like we’re seven years old. Ready? One, two, three! That was awesome! Some of you are like, «Oh man, that was fun, but I didn’t participate.»
So everybody, one, two, three. So, hold on. Let me just make sure we’re all on the same page. What we’re saying is all things — God is involved in all things, like everything. I like how this version of the Bible reads it. This is in the TPT. So we are convinced that every detail-I really like that-every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for good, for good. For we are His lovers who have been called to fulfill His designed purpose. Every single detail, the smallest detail, is saying, «Okay, I’m going to make that good.» I know every single one of us, I say it all the time, we are all believing God for a miracle.
Now, the miracle that you’re believing God for is completely different from the miracle the person next to you is believing God for. But here’s the deal: we’re all believing God for a miracle. And when you’re believing God for a miracle, that means you’re in a state of need. I’m telling you this; according to the Bible, this isn’t Frankie talking. You guys aren’t interested in what I have to say. You’re interested in what the Bible has to say. What it’s saying is, «I’m going to take the need, this area, this season where you’re just like, I’m going to take this and make it good.»
Watch this. This is a statement I hope we can remember. If you don’t remember anything else this morning, remember this: if chance exists, then God cannot exist. Because that would imply that chance means there is something that God doesn’t control. Do you know what? Man, this is a coincidence. Nope. This is -what are the chances? Nope. No chances. No coincidences there. It doesn’t exist. Just to emphasize it again: if chance exists, then God doesn’t, because He is involved in every single area.
Let me read a quote from a gentleman named J.C. Ryle. Man, Joe, you are on it today! I love you. Give our tech team a big round of applause. They only get attention when something goes wrong, so let’s give it to them when it goes right. Watch this: nothing-whatever it is, whether great or small, the smallest detail-can happen to a believer. Nothing can happen to a believer without God’s ordering and permission. There is no such thing as chance, luck, or accident in the Christian’s journey through this world.
How many parents in this room just kind of wave at me? You remember when your baby — maybe it’s the case right now — your baby is like three weeks old, and you got no sleep. Did anything happen to that baby by chance? You decided when it ate. You decided when it got wiped clean. You decided when you wrapped it up like a burrito. You decided. There was no chance. There was no accident. There was no luck. You didn’t walk in and go, «Whoa!» You wrapped up yourself pretty good. God arranges every detail. Let me dive right into the first point. There are no chances. Let me read this scripture. It’s in Proverbs 16:33. I love this one. This is a really cool verse: we may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.
So here we go. I got some dice up here. I have no idea. This one fell on the floor. It’s a two. I don’t know what’s going to happen sometimes when I’ve rolled dice in a game or whatever. Here, you blow. You blow here. You blow. You’re hot. You roll it. You’re hot here. Just throw it. Come on. God knows the number. Watch. He picked the number. Like I’m just playing Monopoly. Details. Details. I’ve lost my wife playing Monopoly every time. Every time you’re like, «Is God really in that detail? Did he make your dice to make sure she won?» Yeah. You’re like, «Why?» Because when I play Monopoly, I come in like this. Y’all are nothing. In another world, I’m Rockefeller. You guys know nothing. Boom. Humble pie for you. Open up every single detail. Look at this dice. He knows how it’s in the Bible.
Belinda, will you come up here real quick? Come on. Yeah, you. Come on. Come on. Am I saying your name wrong? Melissa. Melissa. I like that name much better. Give her a big round of applause. Yeah. Come on. Come on up here real quick. I just need you for a second. Okay. I’ve got a quarter here. Here, come on up here so everyone can see your cool boots. All right. Heads. Tails. Heads. Tails. Tails. What is it? What is it? What is it? What is it? I’m going to guess heads, but it’s probably tails now. What is it? Heads. What’s it going to be? Heads. Tails. Heads. What’s it going to be? Heads. Heads. What’s it going to be? Tails. Heads. It’s my game. I decide whether it’s heads or tails.
I invited her to come into the game. I brought her over. You come over here. God designed you and brought you into His world. He decides when it’s heads and when it’s tails. Sometimes it’s what you wanted; sometimes it’s not what you wanted. But it’s always what He wanted. Big round of applause. You did so good. Sometimes I got time for this. So, if you know my son, he’s got a fun personality, but he’s not really a spotlight guy. So his friends came up to him a few weeks ago and said, «You need to run for homecoming king.» Okay, people love you. You’re gonna win. My son goes, «Never. Not going to do it.» They nominate him anyway. People love you. Don’t worry about it. Everybody loves you. You’re going to win. Don’t worry about it. Well, as whatever you call it, the campaign, the voting, we started the whole family getting sucked into this thing. Like, oh my gosh. You’re about to be homecoming king, dude.
So, anyway, the five guys that got nominated, I think my son was the only one that was like, «I didn’t ask for this; it’s freaking me out.» They’re on the stage last Friday. So, the school shows up; or most of the school shows up, and Ally and I are there, and we’re like, «Oh my gosh, this is crazy.» Luke is up there with these other guys, and now we’re sucked in, right? We’re like, «Hey, he didn’t throw his name in the hat; it got thrown in.»
And this is going to be pretty cool. Everybody' s going to win. You’re going to win. You’re going to win. And the winner is this guy, right? Let’s just call him Mitch. I don’t know what his name is. Mitch. Mitch wins. Well, now we all got sucked into this thing. And so now we’re kind of disappointed, and Luke was like, «I never even wanted to be here anyway, but now I’m kind of upset. I really thought everything everybody was saying was true, you know?» Oh, I was like, man.
So we backed up and we’re like, «Okay, well, we learned a lot here.» And what we figured out was people like him more than they like you. There are more people who like him than like you. And here’s the deal. For whatever reason, I was getting in my truck, right? I was getting in my truck. I opened the door, but I had already prepared this message, and I was like, «God picked the other guy.» And I’m like, «But it would have been so cool.» It’s almost like God says, «Look, hold on a second here. You don’t even know that kid. You don’t know what’s going on in his life. You don’t know what’s going on in his head. And you just needed to know I picked him. Now you’ve got one job: to listen to your own message.»
Does God ever say things to you, not out loud, just like right down in here, that you didn’t ask for that opinion? Like, God never takes my suggestion, but I don’t always ask for His opinion. So, it’s an interesting relationship. Let me go to point number two. There is no chance, but God doesn’t waste trouble. So sometimes you back up and say, «Hold on a second here. There’s trouble that has been brought to me that I didn’t ask for, and I didn’t cause it.» And you’re like, «But God, there’s no chance. That means You were a part of this somehow.» Jesus stood in front of the disciples and said, «Look,» to a whole bunch of believers. It was in Jerusalem. He says, «I’m going to heaven right now.»
Like, in a second, you’re going to see something that’s going to blow your mind because I’m going to go straight up to heaven right in front of you. But before I go, I’m going to ask you to do one thing: I want you to go throughout the world. I want you to get out of Jerusalem and spread the gospel. That’s what I want you to do. And so, all of a sudden, He starts going up. Man, what a moment! Oh my goodness! He starts rising up to heaven. And what do all these believers do? They stayed in Jerusalem. I mean, you like being around people who believe like you. So God looks down and says, «Well, hold on a minute. Look, some trouble is going to come to you.»
And here we go. Let me show you. This is in the book of Acts. I think it’s chapter 1, no, 8:1. Now Saul, who was kind of running things, was consenting to his death. They were talking about Stephen at the time. At that moment, a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions. Okay, listen to this. He tells the believers to go to the other regions. The believers do not go to the other regions. So, He arranges in His providence to cause a scattering. Can I tell you that many of the problems that come to us are either to move us or to change us? It’s God’s providence. It’s, «I didn’t ask for this.» Have you ever thought to yourself, «I would not have any problems if you didn’t bring your problem to me»?
Have you ever thought, «My life was going great till you called»? But He’s doing that as an arrangement. Let me give you an example. Pastor James is our marriage and family counselor at our church. Would you stand up? I want everybody to know who you are. If you need counseling, just call the church. You want to talk to him. And this is why you want to talk to him. How old was your daughter before she passed away? Twenty-two. What was she fighting before she passed away? A terminal brain disease. Now, you have a dad who has a daughter with a terminal brain disease. He didn’t do anything to bring this situation into his life. It came into his life. Remember, no chances, no accidents, no luck exists. It doesn’t exist. And so now we back up and go, «Hold on a minute here. This problem came into Pastor James' life.»
Now, 22 years of caring for his daughter, and then she passes away. No parent should outlive their children. That should never happen. Now, anyone who passes away, the only reason why they passed away is that their assignment is over. The impact they were supposed to make on this earth, they made that impact. They made that impact. Now, what happened? Pastor James is probably one of the best marriage and family counselors I’ve ever met. Now, would he be that good if he didn’t have this horrible situation in his life? Would he be that good? Answer the question. Let me hear you. Let me hear you. No. No, he wouldn’t.
The Bible says we are convinced that all things work together. Whatever is happening to you, it works together. He didn’t arrange it, but He allows it to work together for your good. How many of you have been through hell? Hell. And it almost killed you. But you look back on it and go, «If it weren’t for that, are you with me?» Come on, say yes if you’re with me. Are you with me? If it weren’t for that, that’s when trouble comes to you. When trouble comes to you in the sovereignty of God, it is either to move you or change you. What do I mean by move you? Some of you have been fired from your job because God wants to move you from that job.
And you say, «Well, why did I have to get fired?» Because you are too faithful to quit. You’re one of those people that just say, «I’m going to be faithful, hell or high water. I am not a quitter.» And God looks at you and says, «That’s why I love you, but it’s time to move on.» And since I know you’re not going to quit, you’re going to have to get fired. Trouble comes to you either to move you or to change you. But there’s no coincidence, no chance, no luck, and no «I can’t believe this happened to me.» Sometimes you cause your own trouble. You did this.
Now, here’s the providence of God. Watch this. I’m not going to say it exactly right, Joe, but you know what I’m trying to say. So, go ahead and put it on the screen. The providence of God allows for free will. He allows for free will. Uh, no, no, no. I’ll tell you which one it is, Joe. This one’s on me. Did you get it? Yes, providence does not cancel free will. He allows you to make your own decisions. It’s like, «Bro, this is not what I wanted you to do, but I’m still going to take all things and work them together for good.» But in my sophomore, junior, and senior years, in my freshman year of college, I went to Lamar University.
A paper airplane has a better chance of surviving in hell than I did of going to heaven. No exaggeration. If it was bad, I was doing it. No chance. No chance. I was the preacher’s kid. It’s always the preacher’s kid, right? The preacher’s kid. So now God says, it’s not chance. It’s not coincidence. I brought it upon myself. Have you ever brought trouble upon yourself? You have nobody to blame. You know you did it. Just me? That’s fine. Put your church mask on. No, I have no idea what he’s talking about. If you’re sitting next to your husband or wife, you’re like, «He’s alone on this.»
So, what does God do? Because he works all things together for the good, right? A pastor’s wife in Chicago, her name is Jeanie, came down to speak at our church. And the pastor says, «Hey, Frankie, will you drive her to Intercontinental Airport? She’s got to fly home.» And I’m like, «Really? I don’t even want to be in this church right now.» And you get whatever.
I drive her to the airport, and before she gets out of the car, she’s like a spiritual mom to me. I’m saying, «Mom.» She’s calling me her third son. She has two boys. We talk every single day for six months. I think we missed one. She tells me, «I want you to move to Chicago. I’m 19. Move to Chicago. I’ve got an internship available for you. You’re going to go to Bible school. God’s called you to ministry.» And I’m like, «You know how I’m living?» I go up there. God takes me out of Houston. I was raised here. «You are so messed up. I gotta get you out of this city.» God allowed me free will, but he’s not going to leave me in it. Are you with me?
He moves me to Chicago. She goes, Jeanie goes to Vancouver and meets a girl who’s driving her to the airport. She comes back and says, «I think I met your wife.» I’m like, «Let’s just find out.» I see her across the sanctuary. I haven’t even talked to her yet. You know that envelope that’s in front of you right now? It’s a tithe and offering envelope. But for me, that’s what I wrote notes on to pass down. «Hey, pass this down. Pass this down.» And I wrote down, «I’m going to marry that girl» and handed it to my friend.
Three days later, we were dating. A year and a half later, we were engaged. Two years after that, or a full two years after we met, we’re married. And we’ve been married for 24 years. Let’s give Ally a hand; stand up and wave at everybody. 24 years. She deserves a crown or something. And we have two dogs. One of them’s blind and deaf, but we love it anyway. What? You should see it walk downstairs. It’s really sad and really funny in a sick way. I just lost so much respect from so many of you. Uh, I try to carry it down every chance I get, but sometimes I just hear, " What am I talking about? Oh, yeah. All for good.»
Let me just move on. God took me out of Houston, took care of me in Chicago. Then what did he do? He moved me back to Houston. It’s like when you bring trouble on yourself, you brought it. But God’s providence says, «I’m not going to let you stay there. I’ve got plans.» I caused the dice to roll the way I want them to roll. I’ve got you. I want to let you know something: He’s got you. He’s got you. I don’t want to insult anyone’s intelligence. I know you’re an adult. But just say, «He’s got me,» three times. Just say, «God’s got me.» Just say, «God’s got me.» One, two, three. Just, «God’s got me.»
God is like the director of an orchestra. He tells the brass when to be quiet and when the strings play. Then he tells the strings, and then he causes the brass to play. And sometimes you’re in a season where it’s just like, hey, you’re not going to like it. Just sit for a minute and talk to me, and your season will shift. Just hold up. Just hold up. There’s one last scripture I want to share with you, and then we’ll be done: Second Corinthians 4:18. So we don’t look at the troubles we can see. Rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. What is he saying? He’s saying this: don’t just sit there and think about all the troubles.
Back up and say, «This is not happening by chance. I’m not going to focus on the troubles that I caused or that came to me. There are no chances. God, you got this. You got this.» I was laying in bed the other day, and I was getting rocked. Rocked. What do I mean by rocked? Rocked because all I could think about was every single thing that I was perceiving that was not going well. And I felt the Holy Spirit say to me, «Are you just going to lay there and get swallowed up in this? Is that what you’re going to do? You’re just going to lay there?» And it wasn’t out loud; it was just right down here. You’re going to be down. You’re going to be depressed. You’re going to be upset. You’re just going to sit there and spiral.
Is that your plan right now? And so I’m like, no. I mean, it was my plan. And so I’m like, how am I going to push back on this? See, there was no chance. It wasn’t chance that my mind started getting flooded with that. It wasn’t coincidence. It wasn’t that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. There are no chances. And I’m sitting there, and I’m like, the only way out of this is just to sit here and say thank you for everything I can think of. Thank you for my house. Thank you for my family. Thank you that I’m not in the hospital. Thank you. Thank you. There are no chances. There are no accidents. God, you got this. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
So, I want to encourage you today. God’s got this. He’s got this. Sometimes you get red lights, sometimes you get green lights, but He caused them to turn red, and He caused them to turn green. Every single detail. But He’s got this. Let’s all stand to your feet for me. You know, I want to just show for those of you who are really going through it right now. The future you is amazing. Can I say the future you is amazing because of what you’re going through?
I had a friend of mine; he’s an associate pastor at a megachurch. I think they’ve got like 15,000 people or something like that, and he was the number two guy in charge. He cheated on his wife. Boom. Being a pastor is the only occupation on the planet that, if you have an affair, you lose your job. It’s the only occupation. He’s out. I called him every single day because he was suicidal.
I got another friend of mine in January, a senior pastor. He threw his life into the ministry, training adults on Monday night, youth training on Tuesday night, involved in something on Wednesday night, and his family just unraveled. So she left him in January. So you guys know what happens then; he loses his church. We were friends before that, but now I’m like, I’m going to be his best friend. I got word someone found out we were together, and they were like, «Hey, that’s interesting,» implying maybe I read it wrong. It’s possible I read things wrong a lot, but implying, «What are you doing with this guy? Don’t you know what he did?» And I’m thinking, hold on a second.
What’s the other option? Do you want me to back up? Do you want me to create space so there’s no association between me and him? Is that the other option? Almost like emotionally, mentally just kind of throwing a stone at him, like I’m going to throw a stone at you because of the sin and failure that you caused. That scene sounds very familiar, doesn’t it? Where a prostitute was brought before Jesus, and they were all going to stone her, and then Jesus backs up and says, «Those of you,» what did he say? Yeah, «Those of you who are without sin, cast the first stone.»
You see, the moments in my life that have almost broken me -the years, the first seven, eight, nine years of pastoring this church — I would tell Ally, «We’re going to fold. I’m telling you, we’re going to fold. We’re going to fold.» We’d go to the financial meetings every single year, this annual meeting with the board, and they would say, «Hey, if God doesn’t move, we’re going to fold. There’s not enough money coming in. We can’t pay the bills. We’re going to fold.» And when you have kids, it’s scary. And because of your faithfulness, this whole building is paid off. Isn’t that awesome? But I remember what it’s like to feel like I’m about to lose everything.
So when people lose everything, who comes running? I come running. And then when we start a church, put our church logo on there: Celebration Church. Where did that come from? That came from a person who knows what it’s like to be scared to lose everything. And that ended up being my finest hour -not the hour of being strong, but the hour of feeling like I was going to break. But God used that. Some of you are in your finest hour. It’s your hardest hour, but it’s your finest hour. I’d like for our prayer partners to come down if they would. Some of you need someone to pray with you. Some of you are in this room, and you know-nobody has to tell you -you know that if your heart were to stop beating in the next five minutes, you’re not ready to see the Lord. You know it.
Some of you are just in a tough season, and you need someone to pray for you. In a minute, I’d like for you to come out of your seat and come down and pray with one of the prayer partners. There’s no official dismissal; you can leave whenever you get ready. But let’s sing this next song through one or two times, and then you can leave whenever you want. May the Lord bless you. May He keep you. May His face shine down upon you and be gracious to you. May His countenance be lifted up on you and bring you peace, in Jesus' name. Amen.