Pastor Elwin Ahu
January 8, 2006 - W0602

Sometimes we don’t realize how quickly time is going by unless we look around and see all the changes. Just think of all the opportunities you had this past year—some were golden and some may have turned out to be fool’s gold. Which ones did you take? This next year is rich with opportunity. We don’t want to miss out. How can we avoid missing out?

In the Bible, we find many examples of opportunities taken and opportunities lost. Noah took the opportunity to save his family from the flood. Can you imagine those who missed the boat on that one, and what they had to suffer? Or look at Abraham, who took advantage of opportunities when he was as much as 100 years old.

Sometimes when we miss opportunities, it doesn’t just affect us; it can affect generations to come. For example, soon in our devotions we will be reading about Moses and his twelve spies. Only two out of the twelve he sent out made it into the Promised Land. The other ten missed out because of their lack of faith and as a result, a whole generation perished and didn’t make it to the Promised Land.

If we miss our opportunity for eternal life, the consequences are even more lasting. There is a story in the Bible about a rich young man who knew about heaven and eternal life, and wanted to know more about his opportunity to get there. He asked the Lord, “What do I need to do to receive eternal life?”

“Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’  But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven’” (Matt. 19:21-23).

I wonder if this rich young man knew who he was talking to, or was he blinded by his emotional attachment to his possessions that he couldn’t see that he was talking to Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Did he truly realize that this was the Messiah offering him eternal life? He blew it and missed out. We don’t want to miss out so we need to respond:

1.    GOD WILL PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY; OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO RESPOND.

We have a 3-dimensional God. He knows everything:  our past, our present and our future. In fact, Jeremiah 29:11 says, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’” “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

These scripture tell us that God has already set the stage for our lives – preparing everything for our families, finances, jobs and relationships. It’s like the Lord has made a gourmet feast, invited us, and is just waiting for us to RSVP or respond. It would be such a shame if, after all that preparation, you accepted the invitation but then didn’t show up.

So many times we are presented with opportunities but we respond with, “There’s nowhere to park,” “I’ve tried that and it’s too hard,” or “Counseling again!?!” We are constantly presented with opportunities but oftentimes it’s our lack of obedience or faith that prevents us from getting what we want.

On the other hand, the Bible tells us clearly how we should respond to opportunities…“‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me’” (Rev. 3:20).

Here, the Bible tells us that when opportunities from the Lord knock, we should open the door and respond. Jesus is waiting to meet you on the other side if you would just respond to what He makes available to you. One way to respond is to just always do the right thing because when we follow obediently in the little things, we become alert to the opportunities He places in front of us.

• FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE KEEPS US ALERT.

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16). Faithful obedience is not about waiting for one big thing to happen. It’s more about following Him in all the little things so we become sensitive and alert to what our opportunities really are. We need to be faithful; it matches up what we have in our hearts with His. Then, as you walk in step with Him, He will reveal the next opportunity but be careful…

2.    LET GOD’S WORD, RATHER THAN YOUR EMOTIONS, GUIDE YOU.

Don’t allow your emotions to draw you into a decision. Let the Word of God guide you through the process. God has given us emotions to enjoy life—both the highs and the lows. But what God has given to us for good, the devil will turn around and try to use to separate us from God. Not all opportunities are from God. The devil will create opportunities for us as well. Be very careful.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17 NIV).

A “good work” is really an opportunity. The Word of God filters out the fool’s gold but we need to do more than just read the Word and pray about it. We should also seek out Godly counsel when we need to process things. This means speaking with a brother or a sister who loves God and wants God’s best for your life, and asking them to help you think through a major decision or especially an emotional one. I like to say, “Bump before you Jump.” In other words, don’t jump into an opportunity until you’ve had a chance to bump that idea around with others who can help you filter through the emotion of that decision.

While you are receiving counsel, you need to listen. So many times, we hear but we don’t listen. Sometimes we even join other groups or churches because we aren’t hearing what we want to hear; however, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel” (Prov. 12:15).

Another way to receive counsel is to take it to prayer and listen to what God is saying. If there is something that you need to do to move you toward an opportunity, do it!

In Luke 5, we read about how a paralyzed man had four friends who saw an opportunity for his complete healing and pursued it.

“But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, He said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you.’” (Luke 19:20)

I can just imagine the Lord smiling as He sees this man being lowered into His midst by his friends? His friends’ faith was the reason for the man’s healing and forgiveness. It was a faith that matched their desires with the Lord’s and an intentional commitment on their part to do whatever it would take to bring their friend before the Lord for healing.  This story reminds us that when God provides us with opportunities and we’ve determined that we need to respond, we must…

3.    BE INTENTIONAL AND STAY COMMITTED.

The paralytic’s friends were intent on doing whatever it would take to have their friend healed and Jesus rewarded their faith and commitment with just that. God wants us to be intentional with our actions.  In fact, the Bible even says,  “‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth’” (Rev. 3:15-16).

The Lord is saying that when you jump into a new opportunity, jump wholeheartedly. Make it all or nothing. Stay intentional and committed. It may get difficult if you are aligned with God, nothing can stop you!

“These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful” (Rev. 1:14).

As we start a New Year and make resolutions, resolve yourself to respond when God calls, to filter any decisions or questions you may have about opportunities through His Word, and to be intentional and stay committed to the things He places before you this season.  Don’t miss out on opportunities (like the rich young man who was unwilling to sacrifice his earthly possessions for an eternity in heaven); but rather, stay faithful (like the paralytic’s four friends) to all that God intends for you. And in the end, when we see each other at the finish line, we’ll all cheer, “Done!”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1)     Imagine making delicious banana bread, but where the recipe says to sift all the dry ingredients together, you decide to skip that and just dump the flour, salt and baking soda into the wet ingredients. Now when the bread comes out of the oven, it smells terrific and you can barely wait to take a big bite out of a buttered slice. But when you do, you taste something horrible: a chunk of baking soda! Can you think of a situation in your life, where you knew what you needed to do but decided not to be faithful to God’s instructions? Perhaps you skipped an important step. What did you skip and why did you decide to skip it? How did the situation turn out? Was there a “chunk of baking soda”?  

2)     Have you ever experienced or witnessed the kind of faith that the four friends of the paralytic’s exhibited – a faith that matched their desires with the Lord’s? If so, share about what happened.

3)     The Lord delights in providing us with opportunities when we match our desires to His. Describe a situation where, despite challenges, what you wanted and what God wanted were in alignment. How did that go? Were you able to put everything you had into making a way? What finally happened and what would you recommend to a friend faced with a similar challenging but “right” situation?

4)     Have you ever mistaken fool’s gold for a golden opportunity? If so, why do you think that took place? In hindsight, what have you learned that can help you avoid making a similar mistake in the future?

5)     Think of a time when a friend helped you filter out some of your emotions for a big decision you had to make? How did that affect your decision making? Is something going on now that you need some help with?

6)     There’s a party coming up in heaven. Will you be there? If so, how do you know? If you’re not certain, what can you do to gain that assurance?