21/05/2024
So, the title of my message this evening is OPPORTUNITY.
Opportunity is a set of circumstances that makes something possible. You are not going to have just one opportunity in life, you are going to have so many opportunities.
Eccl. 9:11: I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
In this passage we are introduces to things we consider to be very good factors. Factors such as Strength, swift, scholarly, skilful. In fact if you ask anybody the factors they consider one needs to be successful you will hear something like, you have to be smart, you have to be skilful, you have to go to school, these are factors that all of us aim for. We want to be strong, wise, smart etc. and because of this we do a lot. We go to School, we train ourselves, however the writer of Eccl. Is saying that as great as all this factors are they don’t always produce the result. That is to say the battle doesn’t always go to the strong, there are strong people who lose the battle, and there are swift people who lose the race of life. Eccl. Says Time and Chance happens to them all. In other words how you appropriate time and chance will determine whether the things you have as an advantage will work for your advantage ultimately.
That word Chance means a situation in life that you cannot control. Something is going to hit you in life that you didn’t plan for. Something is going to come your way that you are not ready for. Whether you are swift, strong, scholarly, wise, whatever you are, when those things hit you, you are going to learn to respond well. Because if you don’t, the outcome will not be very wonderful. I summarize what this passage is saying to mean that: our natural abilities and professional trainings are not enough to guarantee success. I think that is true, if we think right now we will see we have stories. Maybe we are the stories ourselves.
TIME AND CHANCE.
Our lives as Christians and as a Church are about opportunities.
Understand this, God is at work with us in every season of life. Through trials, through tragedy, through triumph, God is always with us.
So how does opportunity factor in all of this? Let’s look at the phases of opportunity.
PHASES OF OPPRTUNITY
1. Purpose-made
When life has prepared you to play a suitable role. This is the opportunity most people are familiar with when you are ready for something and it happens. When readiness meets opportunity. That is recognising your calling in a time in history. Knowing I have come to the kingdom for such a time and this.
2. CHAOS
When things are thrown out of the normal order.
Many time we want to see the power of GOD and that power of GOD needs chaos to manifest.
PETER and His friends were in a boat and then they looked afar and saw a figure, ordinarily they were not supposed to see a figure in that kind of place, so they thought it was a ghost, so as the figure got closer , the figure spoke , said don’t be afraid then PETER saw an opportunity.
HE says lord if it is you, bid me to come to you and JESUS said come. Peter stepped on water, you want the opportunity to step on water, you want to experience the power of GOD, you want to have testimony this year, there is going to be tests. When things get chaotic, don’t despair because opportunity might just be knocking on your door.
3. CHALLENGES
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3. CHALLENGES
When pressure in place upon you to produce result, and you feel stretched, you feel your capacity being too much demanded from, that is opportunity.
Story of ESTHER in the Bible, Her people was going to be destroyed but she had a very comfortable life, she was living in the palace. Her people were slaves in the kingdom. She thought she was comfortable until a challenge was thrown to her ‘’go tell the king about the things that is happening so we can be free’’ but she says ‘’ it doesn’t work like that if you go to the king without invitation you DIE!’’ SECOND CALLENGE - don’t think you will be free over here, if you don’t go destruction will come and it will affect you too. And she says ‘’I will go if, if I perish, I perish, she thus became the redeemer of her nation. Challenges, Bribery, corruption, lateness in your office and in the society is an opportunity for us Christians.
Your desire to be a great person will not come already prepared it will come through challenging opportunity.
Remember, not everything we see as opportunity is our opportunity. Only God knows the best. Therefore if a door we think is an opportunity closes, then it means the main door is about to open. Don’t stay in that closed door and cry.
That is how we stay in the same place sometimes not because GOD is not faithful-HE is faithful, HE says no temptation will come your way that you are not able to overcome but in every temptation HE will open a way of escape, my friend there is another door, there is another opportunity. Don’t pack your life at a bus stop, just because someone was insensitive to you. GOD has a new door for you, HE’s got other opportunities for you, His mercies are new every morning. HIS faithfulness never seizes. If He takes one out, he will bring another back your way.
No human being is indispensable, those who have left, let them go, but there are those who are coming, let those who are going go and let those who are coming come. GOD will open the door.IT may not come the way you want it. It might come through chaos, challenge, that’s why it says the race is not to the strong or swift. There are strong, intelligent and swift people who miss opportunity. But you child of GOD take charge of your life, pray and ask GOD open your eyes because opportunity is not always comfortable and when the door of opportunity opens we must be ready to act. Not just act, but act on time.
Leonard Ravenhill, a great preacher made this statement about opportunity – “the opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of that opportunity.”
That is to say, every opportunity have a life time, opportunities are not permanent. They are doors they get open and gets shot. If you don’t access it when it is open, then it’s gone. Because the doors God opens for us will not be permanently open.
If Peter had not stepped into the water at that time, he might not have a second chance to do that and we would never had known that Peter could walk on water, He sank later but at least he walked on water.
If Esther has not said …”if I perish, I perish” we would not has known what one woman could do to save a nation –she used the opportunity in the life time of that opportunity.
Beautiful sermon, thank you!! —JA Merv
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Note making most of our opportunity is what we do for ourselves not for God. Because believe you me if Esther had not done that, God would have raised another person for himself.
God will give us opportunities this year, it might come in chaotic situations, a challenge or your purpose but when it comes you must use it in the lifetime of that opportunity. You cannot post pone opportunity, you cannot procrastinate opportunity. All of us can look back in our lives and discover missed opportunities.
Sometimes certain people come into our life and we mistreat them, now think about the people in your life right now, how are you treating them? Do not treat people anyhow – God brings people in your way all the time and you must use opportunity in the lifetime of that opportunity. Maybe an Orphan, a poor kid, nagging boss, etc. and God brings them in short time in your life, please don’t play with such an opportunity.
Joseph was in prison because he was falsely accused, his dreams seemed shattered. So one day in the prison two men had dreams respectively. If Joseph was a bitter, cynical person, he would looked at those two men, rubbished their dreams. Because his own dread hadn’t come to pass, he would have said ...”Forget about dreams, they don’t happen anyways, he would even gone ahead to tell them how his own didn’t work. Or he would have just said, “Nobody helped me, why should I help you. No Joseph didn’t do that, this two people comes. Joseph have no idea the consequences of what he is about to do that early morning because opportunity does not show you its outcome. It just shows you a door, you must have the consciousness to step into that door, because you have no idea what is in that door. Joseph interprets a dream for a man, a butler, the dream comes true and he is forgotten, but two years later he was remembered and that singular act that morning brings to pass dreams he had years ago himself which seems abandoned. One day he is moved from a prisoner to a prime minister within 24hours. Just because of one morning he was opportune to interpret a dream. Now you can be in an office where everyone collects bribe, and someone enters and say he has no money and everyone ignores the person that is an opportunity for you. Sow that seed. Opportunity does not come announcing itself in fine clothing many times it comes in very dirty clothing and you need to recognize it. And since you can’t tell which one is great opportunity or not the bible says cast your bread on many waters, in other words,
do good all the time,
sow good seeds all the time,
be nice all the time,
be generous all the time.
Many of the outcome of life is determined by the simple things we do. This has nothing to do with your education, strength, smartness. Something little you did opens the door something little you did shots the door. You ask me. Where is the opportunities? They are everywhere around you. It is the person sitting beside you. Since our future is still in the unknown, we should give every opportunity our best shot. You cannot tell who to treat well or not, so treat everybody well. Just one person you treat well can change your life forever. You can imagine if Joseph had been paying attention to only Lawyers, Politicians, and all big men yet it was a butler that announced him.
HOW TO MAKE MUST OUT OF OUR OPPORTUNITIES.
1. Be Ready to Serve
When God gave His only Son to die for us, with that he gave us all the opportunity to be more than we presently are, the opportunity to honour him, the opportunity to serve. Therefore, managing your time well becomes highly important when you recognize that God has called you to a life of serving Him and serving others. Jesus said, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples” (John 15:8).
To the Christians of his day, Paul emphasized the seriousness of “redeeming the time”—making the most of your time and opportunities. “So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days” (Ephesians 5:15-16, New Living Translation).
2. Realize Why You Are . . . Where You Are
Realize why you are in that Office, realize why you married that man, realize why you have that kind of Boss, and realize why God gave you those kids.
Here, this realization will make you either maximize where you are better or move.
If you’re working the same job . . . in the same position you were ten years ago . . . if you’re still paying off the same debts . . . it’s time for some self-examination on your part.
Max DePree, businessman and author, once said:
“We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are.”
You’ve got to know why you are . . . where you are.
Is it fear? Is it a desire to be comfortable in your surroundings and in the things you do on a daily basis?
If you don’t like where you are … why in the world would you want to continue living where you are?
Some people continue to live where they are because of laziness.
Understand this ... God doesn’t do laziness.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-7 in The Living Bible says:
“Now here is a command, dear brothers, given in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ by his authority: Stay away from any Christian who spends his days in laziness and does “not follow the ideal of hard work we set up for you.”
2 Thessalonians 3:11 in The Living Bible says:
“Yet we hear that some of you are living in laziness, refusing to work, and wasting your time in gossiping.”
Never be too lazy to read a book… it increases your knowledge and value in the marketplace.
Some people justify their lack of achievement by making meaningless excuses.
If there is one thing God dislikes more than laziness . . . its excuses.
Excuses by their nature imply limitations or an inability to break through the barriers of life. God does not impose any limitations on us . . . except that we obey His instructions.
Sadly, many of the imagined limitations are self-imposed.
Proverbs 22:13 in The Living Bible says:
“The lazy man is full of excuses. "I can't go to work!" he says. "If I go outside, I might meet a lion in the street and be killed!"
Romans 3:19 in the Amplified Bible say
“Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that [the murmurs and excuses of] every mouth may be hushed and all the world may be held accountable to God.”
we will continue same time tomorrow.
Good night ❤.
