Text: Ecc.9:11
Gal.6:9-10 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we
do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to
those who are of the household of faith.
3. We miss because most of the time we are looking at the end product and not the seed.
Opportunity does not look at the end product but it focuses on the seed that produces the end
product – Judas Ischariot –Acts 1:17 “for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this
ministry.”
20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’;* and, ‘Let* another take his
office.’*
(iii) Lack of knowing that opportunity can come when the situation is not ideal – you may
be broke, angry, afraid or in a very uncomfortable situation 2Kings 7- The Lepers.
THE BLESSINGS OF OPPORTUNITY
i. When you access opportunity, what follows is open door. At various levels or
points in our lives, God is opening new doors each one results in new opportunities and so on.
ii. Opportunity brings promotion because your gifts often are show cased –
The 3 Hebrew Children – Dan.3:30
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times
more than it was usually heated. 20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in
his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery
furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their
other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore,
because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire
killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 23 And these three men,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his
counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”They answered and said
to the king, “True, O king.” 25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the
midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”*
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying,
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.”
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps,
administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men
on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their
garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying,
“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel* and delivered His
servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their
bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! 29 Therefore I
make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God
of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an
ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.” 30 Then the king promoted
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.
iii. Opportunities seized and appropriately utilized makes your God famous – Dan.3:19-30
iv. Opportunities utilized liberates others associated with you.
Nehemiah – Neh 1& 2
Daniel – Dan.9:1-2 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the
Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans — 2 in the first year of his reign I,
Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord
through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of
Jerusalem.
Recognizing Opportunity
1. Recognize God’s sovereignty over life’s circumstances and occurrences
2. See your life in the light of God’s larger purpose.
3. Be open to any new lesson to be learnt or experience or skill to be acquired.
4. Allow God to use what you are going through for His glory.
5. Find out the will of God and step out in faith as did Esther and Peter.
6. Release the pain of old opportunities missed
7. Forgive yourself and others for past mistakes – Psm.37:23-24,
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. 24 Though he
fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. Prov.24:16 16
for a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
Micah 7:8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
- What To Do While Waiting For Breakthrough - September 26, 2010
- Breakthrough By The Holy Spirit Sermon - September 19, 2010
- Work – Made Productivity - September 12, 2010