Opportunity in Christian preaching emphasizes the importance of recognizing and seizing God-given moments for action or decision, as these chances are fleeting and may not return (Ephesians 5:16). Illustrations often depict opportunity as transient, like a passing breeze or a quickly closing door, underscoring the urgency to act promptly and faithfully.
Seizing opportunity promptly is crucial because it cannot be caught again later.
Opportunity has hair in front; behind she is bald; if you seize her by the forelock, you may hold her; but, if suffered to escape, not Jupiter himself can catch her again. From the Latin.
Opportunity is like a breeze that must be acted on immediately or it will be lost.
Opportunity is like a favoring breeze springing up around a sailing-vessel. If the sails be all set, the ship is wafted onward to its port; if the sailors are asleep or ashore, the breeze may die again, and when they would go on they cannot: their vessel stands as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean. U. Mag.
Failing to use opportunity leads to loss and regret.
Opportunity is like a strip of sand which stretches around a seaside cove. The greedy tide is lapping up the sand. The narrow strip will quickly become impassable; and then how sad the fate of the thoughtless children who are now playing and gathering shells and seaweed inside the cove! Union Magazine.
Timidity leads to unbelief and loss of God-given opportunities and rewards.
Excessive timidity becomes unbelief and brings God's displeasure and withdrawal of opportunities. Others get the reward we might have had
God opens gospel opportunities even when men think they are blocking them.
When men think they are blocking the gates of the Gospel, God is opening them. Paul, as result of his trials, gets chance to preach the Gospel to men in high places
Missing God's timing can cause one to lose the greatest opportunities in life.
It is said that an artist once gained permission to paint a portrait of the Queen. This was a great opportunity and would probably have made the man’s fortune. A place was fixed and a time was set, and promptly the Queen appeared, but the artist was not there—he was not ready yet. When he did arrive, he was informed that her Majesty had departed and would not return. So, because he was not ready, he missed the opportunity of his lifetime.
Opportunities must be seized promptly or they become much harder to regain.
Have you ever heard of a picture that was called "Opportunity?" It represents a person with a great deal of hair on her forehead, but none on the back of her head. The meaning of the picture is this: When you catch an opportunity as it comes, it is easy to hold; but once you let it get by you, it is very difficult to catch it again. It is something like trying to catch a train that has just pulled out of the station. I used to live near a boy in Canada who did not like to go to school, and when the snow was deep and the weather was frosty he would find some excuse by which he got his mother to let him stay at home. When he grew up he found out what he had missed by not getting an education, and he tried to make it up, but he could not. He was running after the train. He soon got discouraged and gave up, and tried to get his living in some other way than by hard work. The last I heard of him he had just been arrested for stealing. I have known other boys and girls who thought of joining the Church, but they just kept putting it off and putting it off, thinking that any time would do well enough. And then, as they got older, they felt that they weren't good enough, or that some of their friends might not approve, and so they have grown up and have not yet joined, and each year it keeps growing harder. The two opportunities that you boys and girls ought to take "by the forelock," as we say, are, first: in getting all the schooling you can while you have the chance. You will never have such a good opportunity again, and if you let it slip you may never, never catch up. And second: in making as fine a start as you can in your Christian life by learning all you can about the Bible and by getting Christ's example into your hearts.
Delaying action wastes opportunities to influence others with boldness and faithfulness.
I have seen ten years of young men who rush out into the world with messages, and when they find how deaf the world is, they think they must save their strength and get quietly up on some little eminence from which they can make themselves heard. “In a few years,” reasons one of them, “I shall have gained a standing, and then I shall use my power for good.” Next year comes, and with it a strange discovery. The man has lost his horizon of thought. His ambition has evaporated; he has nothing to say. The great occasion that was to have let him loose on society was some little occasion that nobody saw, some moment in which he decided to obtain a standing. The great battle of a lifetime has been fought and lost over a silent scruple. But for this the man might, within a few years, have spoken to the nation with the voice of an archangel. What was he waiting for? Did he think that the laws of nature were to be changed for him? Did he think that a “notice of trial” would be served on him? Or that some spirit would stand at his elbow and say, “Now’s your time?” The time of trial is always. Now is the appointed time. And the compensation for beginning at once is that your voice carries at once. You do not need a standing. It would not help you. Within less time than you can see it, you will have been heard. The air is filled with sounding-boards and the echoes are flying. It is ten to one that you have but to lift your voice to be heard in California, and that from where you stand. A bold plunge will teach you that the visions of the unity of human nature which the poets have sung were not fictions of their imagination, but a record of what they saw. Deal with the world, and you will discover their reality. Speak to the world, and you will hear their echo.
— JOHN JAY CHAPMAN
Opportunities for meaningful work should be seized early, not belatedly honored.
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A newspaper item has the following:
At an annual dinner of the Architectural League of New York the venerable artist, John La Farge--who certainly belongs among the first half-score of painters that America has produced--was presented with a medal of honor.
Then a singular thing happened.
Mr. La Farge got upon his feet and, in a gentle tone of expostulation, protested that the honors now offered him were a little empty--and very much belated.
He said he had “only three or four more years left to work in,” and that through all the years of his vigorous manhood the great city of New York, with all its vast enterprise of building, had offered little opportunity to his hand.
The kind word should be spoken to the friend and not engraved on his tombstone. The work that is thought of should be performed in the day of opportunity, for it may be so belated as to lose much of its meaning.
People often ignore divine opportunities and messages, missing grace and blessing.
_Zion’s Herald_ prints this significant poem:
People tell the story yet, With the pathos of regret, How along the streets one day, Unawares from far away, Angels passed with gifts for need, And no mortal gave them heed. They had cheer for those who weep, They had light for shadows deep, Balm for broken hearts they bore, Rest, deep rest, a boundless store; But the people, so they say, Went the old blind human way,-- Fed the quack and hailed the clown When the angels came to town.
It has been and will be so: Angels come and angels go, Opportunity and Light, ’Twixt the morning and the night, With their messages divine To your little world and mine. And we wonder why we heard Not a whisper of their word, Caught no glimpse of finer grace In the passing form and face; That our ears were dull as stones To the thrill of spirit tones, And we looked not up, but down, When the angels came to town.
Opportunity knocks daily; those who act can conquer all but death, while doubters fail.
Senator J. J. Ingalls wrote the first of these poems not long before he died, the only poetry he is known to have composed. In reply, Walter Malone wrote the second selection:
I
Master of human destinies am I, Fame, love and fortune on my footsteps wait, Cities and fields I walk; I penetrate Deserts and seas remote, and, passing by Hovel and mart and palace, soon or late I knock, unbidden, once at every gate: If sleeping, wake--if feasting, rise before I turn away. It is the hour of fate, And they who follow me, reach every state Mortals desire and conquer every foe Save death; but those who doubt or hesitate, Condemned to failure, penury, and wo; Seek me in vain, and uselessly implore: I answer not, and I return no more.
II
They do me wrong who say I come no more, When once I knock and fail to find you in; For every day I stand outside your door, And bid you wake to ride, to fight, and win. Wail not for precious chances passed away, Weep not for golden ages on the wane! Each night I burn the records of the day, At sunrise every soul is born again. Laugh like a boy at splendors that have sped, To vanished joys be blind and deaf and dumb; My judgment seal the dead past with its dead, But never bind a moment yet to come. Tho deep in mire, wring not your hands and weep: I lend my arm to all who say, “I can!” No shamefaced outcast ever sank so deep, But yet might rise and be again a man. Dost thou behold thy lost youth all aghast? Dost reel from righteous retribution’s blow? Then turn from blotted archives of the past, And find the future’s pages white as snow. Art thou a mourner? Rouse thee from thy spell! Art thou a sinner? Sins may be forgiven. Each morning gives thee wings to flee from hell, Each night a star to guide thy feet to heaven.
Seizing brief, rare opportunities requires preparation and diligence, like studying a solar eclipse.
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The importance of seizing opportunities as they pass by is realized by astronomers who study the sun’s corona:
The study of the corona of the sun is limited to the few brief moments of total solar eclipse; to some five or six minutes every few years. For this purpose expeditions are fitted out and sent to the most favorable locations; and the astro-physicist utilizes every moment of totality in obtaining photographs and spectographs for measurements and study.--CHARLES LANE POOR, “The Solar System.”
Given the right environment, even neglected things can grow into something beautiful and strong.
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Howard B. Gross, pleading for better conditions for the “submerged” classes, says:
The other day, after Easter, I took a lily which I had bought for my wife--it had withered and grown yellow--I took the ugly thing and threw it into the back yard, and as I threw it the pot broke, and I saw a thousand little rootlets beating against the pot, hungry for air and moisture, and I planted that ugly thing in the soft and tender soil, where the morning sun could smile upon it, and the noonday sun not smite it, and the fairest thing which ever grew in the garden grew out of that despised and dried thing which had no chance to grow. All these people need is the full, free, fair chance that we have had.
Single acts or moments can determine a person's destiny for regret or glory.
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Single acts and moments are fraught with destiny.
Esau filled his life with regret for trifling one day; Esther’s was full of glory for one day’s courage. Peter slept one hour and lost a matchless opportunity; Mary’s name is fragrant forever for the loving deed of a day. Do your best now. (Text.)
— MALTBIE BABCOCK
Choosing difficult opportunities can lead to great growth and impact in ministry.
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Some men make their opportunities.
Less than sixteen years ago a clergyman was called to two New York parishes. One was thriving, the other was standing still, the duty of existence growing heavier with each year of inactivity. He chose the latter church, because, as he said, “there was more work to do.” At that time his congregation was never large and bad weather often made it very small. It had a Sunday-school of less than fifty members and the Sunday services were practically the end of the week’s labor. People were moving rapidly farther uptown; the churches were going with them, and St. Bartholomew’s, at that time one of the smaller Episcopal parishes, while it was stubbornly holding its place, was gradually weakening. And so it was, comparatively inactive, half forsaken, when Dr. Greer came to it.
Dr. Greer left St. Bartholomew’s recently perhaps the most powerful single Protestant organization in the world, a church that spends more than two hundred thousand dollars a year, the old edifice remodeled and crowded to the doors of a Sunday morning, a parish house in the midst of the maelstrom of East Side life; six Sunday-schools aggregating two thousand members, two in English, one in Armenian, one in Chinese, one in German, one in Swedish; industrial schools, clubs, an employment bureau that obtains positions for one hundred people a week, a clinic that cares for one hundred and fifty people a day, a boarding-house for girls, and many other important cogs in an immense and constantly active machine of religious and philanthropic endeavor. It was built up piece by piece, getting greater support as it proved itself, just as any factory or business grows. (Text.)--ARTHUR GOODRICH, _Leslie’s Monthly_.
Failing to seize opportunities leads to regret because life moves forward without return.
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There is an Indian legend of a good spirit who, wishing to benefit a young princess, led her into a ripe and golden corn-field. “See these ears of corn, my daughter; if thou wilt pluck them diligently, they will turn to precious jewels; the richer the ear of corn, the brighter the gem. But thou mayest only once pass through this corn-field, and canst not return the same way.” The maiden gladly accepted the offer. As she went on, many ripe and full ears of corn she found in her path, but she did not pluck them, always hoping to find better ones farther on. But presently the stems grew thinner, the ears poorer, with scarcely any grains of wheat on them; further on they were blighted, and she did not think them worth picking. Sorrowfully she stood at the end of the field, for she could not go back the same way, regretting the loss of the golden ears she had overlooked and lost.
To each of us are golden opportunities offered; life speeds on to the goal from which there is no return; let us redeem the time, for fields are white to harvest.--_Illustrated Missionary News._
Jesus' coming marked the start of a new era and unprecedented opportunity for the world.
Let me remind you of that great painting called “Anno Domini,” which perhaps some of you have seen, and which vividly illustrates the unprecedented opportunity to-day in the extreme Orient. It represents an Egyptian temple from whose spacious courts a brilliant procession of soldiers, statesmen, philosophers, artists, musicians, and priests is advancing in triumphal march, bearing a huge idol, the challenge and the boast of heathenism. Across the pathway of the procession is an ass, whose bridle is held by a reverent-looking man, and upon whose back is a fair young mother with her infant child. It is Jesus entering Egypt in flight from the wrath of Herod, and thus crossing the path of aggressive heathenism. The clock strikes and the Christian era begins.--ARTHUR JUDSON BROWN, “Student Volunteer Movement,” 1906.
Delaying decisions can cause one to miss valuable opportunities with lasting consequences.
Everybody knows now of the telephone and its large usefulness. It was not so, however, back in the seventies. Dr. Alexander Graham Bell had hard work to arouse interest, and harder yet to enlist capital, in his invention. In an account of the struggles of those early days, the following incident appears:
He resolved on a desperate move, and he went to Chauncey M. Depew and offered him a one-sixth interest in the company if he would loan $10,000 to put the company on its feet. Depew took a week to consider the proposition. At the end of the week he wrote back that the incident might be considered closed. The telephone was a clever idea, but it was utterly lacking in commercial possibilities, and $10,000 was far too big a sum to risk in marketing an instrument that at best could never be more than a source of amusement.
Thus Depew let slip an opportunity to acquire for $10,000 an interest that to-day could not be bought for less than $25,000,000.
Sticking rigidly to plans can cause one to miss unexpected, valuable opportunities.
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The New York _Sun_ is authority for the following story:
A Provincetown man, out on his first trip as captain of a whaling-vessel, about thirty years ago, stopt at one of the West India Islands on his way home. One of the natives offered him five small lumps of a dirty-looking substance which the native asserted was good for something. The native further informed the captain that he had got these pieces from a dead whale which was ashore on a certain beach and that there was plenty more in the carcass.
Did the captain hoist all sail and get to that dead whale as fast as the winds of Providence would permit? Not a bit of it. He had been made captain for the purpose of going after sperm oil, and he concluded that he’d better stick to his job. So he gave the native a pair of blue overalls and a jumper for the five dirty lumps and went on his way.
After he had made port he showed the five lumps to Mr. Stull, and when the latter gave him $700 for them he almost had a fit. Still that shock was nothing to what he got a little later, for he learned that another captain had heard of the dead whale, had got what ambergris still remained in the carcass and had sold it in New York for $30,000. It was estimated that this whale must have contained in all at least $50,000 worth of ambergris.
True opportunity is the substance, while merely seeking position is the shadow.
When Elihu Root was about to enter the Roosevelt Cabinet as Secretary of State, a friend wrote to him: “Why not wait three years and get the substance instead of taking the shadow now?” in allusion to the presidency. Mr. Root replied: “I have always thought that the opportunity to do something worth doing was the substance and the trying to get something was the shadow.”
A Baptist deacon was under conviction about his lack of evangelistic success. He wanted to be a good witness for Jesus but he felt he never had any good opportunities. One day, before taking a business trip, he poured out his heart to God. He asked God to give him a sign, a definite leading to witness to some soul, anyone.
He arrived at the airport and got on his plane. A husky man sat in the seat next to him. "How has your day been?" the deacon asked solicitously. A pained expression came over the heavy-set man's face and he began to spill out his concerns. "My wife just left me... I may be laid off soon... I don't know where to turn! I've even considered ending it all, but I can't bring myself to do it. I was brought up in church but I didn't understand it. What can I do? Oh, what can I do?"
The deacon sat there stunned, then bowed his head and prayed, "Lord, give me a sign! Please give me a sign!"
The March 1988 "Rotarian" tells about a bounty of $5,000 offered for each wolf captured alive. It turned Sam and Jed into fortune hunters. Day and night they scoured the mountains and forests looking for their valuable prey.
Exhausted one night, they fell asleep dreaming of their potential fortune. Suddenly, Sam awoke to see that they were surrounded by about fifty wolves with flaming eyes and bared teeth. He nudged his friend and said, "Jed, wake up! We're rich!"
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A version from the Fredericksburg collection:
An organization in Montana offered a bounty of five thousand dollars for every wolf captured alive. Two hunters named Sam and Jed decided to head for the hills and make some money capturing wolves. Day and night they scoured the mountains and forests searching for their valuable prey. Exhausted after three days of hunting without any success, they both fell asleep.
During the night, Sam suddenly woke up to find that he and Jed were surrounded by a pack of fifty wolves, with flaming red eyes and bared teeth, snarling at the two hunters and preparing to pounce.
Sam nudged Jed and said, "Hey, wake up! We're gonna be rich!"
Sometimes when we are surrounded by what appears to be many difficulties, we may in fact be surrounded by many opportunities. The Chinese symbol for the word "crisis" actually combines the two words "danger" and "opportunity." When a crisis occurs, we can choose to be frightened and cowardly, or strong and courageous. It's all a matter of perspective.
Next time you find yourself in a jam, remember: "You're gonna be rich!" You have the opportunity to learn and grow, and to experience the grace and power of God in that situation. Situations like that don't come along every day!
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Edited from More Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice. Copyright 1995 by Youth Specialties, Inc.
I don't know what comes to your mind when you hear the word "fat," but I have a good idea. In America fat is nearly always a dirty word. We spend billions of dollars on pills, diet books, and exercise machines to help us lose excess fat. I hadn't heard a kind word about fat in years - that is, until I met Dr. Paul Brand.
"Fat is absolutely gorgeous," says Brand, a medical doctor who has worked with lepers in India. "When I perform surgery, I marvel at the shimmering, lush layers of fat that spread apart as I open up the body. Those cells insulate against cold, provide protection for the valuable organs underneath, and give a firm, healthy appearance to the whole body." I had never thought of fat quite like that!
"But those are just side benefits," he continues. "The real value of fat is as a storehouse. Locked in those fat cells are the treasures of the human body. When I run or work or expend any energy, fat cells make that possible. They act as banker cells. It's absolutely beautiful to observe the cooperation among those cells!
Dr. Brand applies the analogy of fat to the body of Christ. Each individual Christian in a relatively wealthy country like America is called to be a fat cell. America has a treasure house of wealth and spiritual resources. The challenge to us, as Christians, is to wisely use those resources for the rest of the body.
Ever since talking to Dr. Brand, I have taken a sort of whimsical pleasure once each month in thinking of myself as a fat cell - on the day I write out checks for Christian organizations. It has helped my attitude. No longer do I concentrate on how I could have used that money I am giving away; rather, I contemplate my privilege to funnel those resources back into Christ's body to help accomplish his work all around the world.
Parables sermon series. Talents Matthew 25:14-30
"HOW TALENTED ARE YOU?"
[see especially "Investing in What Lasts" by Wayne Grudem in
Christianity Today, May 12, 1989, p. 31ff.]
I. Investing is tricky business.
II. When the boss doesn't come back for a while.
A. Wealthy man going on a journey.
B. Servants have differing results.
C. Master returns after a long time.
D. Master rips into unproductive servant.
III. Double or nothing.
A. God gives us what we need to carry out our task.
B. Christians receive differing levels of responsibility.
C. It's not enough to know what to do, you must do it.
D. The glory of God deserves our best effort.
E. Take risks for God.
IV. Christians must know that Jesus is coming back - sometime.
A. Context deals with Second Coming of Jesus. (Matthew 24 & 25)
B. Dangers of imminent expectation.
C. Dangers of no expectation.
D. When Jesus comes back, he will bring rewards.
It was 1818 in France, and Louis, a boy of 9, was sitting in his father's workshop. The father was a harness-maker and the boy loved to watch his father work the leather. “Someday Father,” said Louis, “I want to be a harness-maker, just like you.” “Why not start now?” said the father. He took a piece of leather and drew a design on it. “Now, my son,” he said, “take the hole-puncher and a hammer and follow this design, but be careful that you don't hit your hand.” Excited, the boy began to work, but when he hit the hole-puncher, it flew out of his hand and pierced his eye! He lost the sight of that eye immediately. Later, sight in the other eye failed.
Louis was now totally blind. A few years later, Louis was sitting in the family garden when a friend handed him a pinecone. As he ran his sensitive fingers over the cone, an idea came to him. He became enthusiastic and began to create an alphabet of raised dots on paper so that the blind could feel and interpret what was written. Thus, Louis Braille opened up a whole new world for the blind -- all because of an accident!
Bits and Pieces, June, 1990, p. 23-4
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Another version from SermonCentral:
AWL FOR THE GOOD
In 1809, Simon Renee Braille and his wife Monique welcomed their fourth child into the world -- a lively boy named Louis. They lived in a small stone house near Paris where Braille was the local harness maker. Leather working tools are dangerous, so the toddler had been instructed not to go into his father's shop alone.
But when Louis was still small, he slipped into the shop, and with curiosity started to handle all the fascinating tools. As Louis was inspecting an awl, the sharp tool used to punch holes in leather, he slipped and punctured a part of his eye with the tool. The injured eye became infected. The little boy could not keep his hands from rubbing and scratching the wound, and soon the infection spread to his other eye as well. When Louis was only 4, he became completely blind.
Louis was fortunate enough to study at the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris. He excelled as an organist, and at twelve years old began asking the question “How can the blind read?” Over his summer break at home, Louis was determined to find the answer. As He moved and groped around his father’s shop in search of the right tool for his task, the awl presented itself as perfect for the job. The awl would make the raised dots he had seen in the French military system of “night writing.”
And with the very instrument that had blinded him, Louis worked and worked until he had created a system of dots whereby the blind could read and write, work math problems and compose music.
What is your awl -- The thing that has crippled you, either by your own doing like young Louis, or someone else’s? Is it a divorce, the death of someone you love, a lost career? Let God take it, and use it in your life for good — to reshape you or comfort others.
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Source: SermonCentral staff. Citation: Joseph E. Sullivan. “Louis Braille.” http://www.braillerman.com/louis.html
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Do our busy schedules leave room for the Spirit's gentle nudges?
Fred Wevodua rushed past a gospel signboard-toting older gentleman in Atlanta's Hartsfield airport. The man had a decidedly 1950's look and the sign said, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Fred felt guilty for not interacting with him but he was late for a presentation on missions in Russia. Wevodua rationalized by saying the gentleman's method was ineffective for our culture. But he felt so guilty he retraced his steps through the terminal to find the man. He was gone. The following week in his Sunday School class he shared the story, only to be interrupted by one of his students who also saw the gentleman and gave him some money.
Fred concluded that God will marshal the resources of His people to meet needs that we may overlook, but also that we need to be sensitive to God and open to "divine interruptions." Opportunities for ministry are all around us.
Henry Drummond wrote:
"I shall pass through this world but once. Any good thing,
therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to
any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect
it, for I shall not pass this way again."
After Mel, my husband, blessed the food, I broke off a piece of the boiled ball of pulverized igname root, swished it around with my fingers in the watery goat broth, raised it to my lips and thanked God for the incredible opportunity we had to be in Benin, west Africa.
We had just attended a church service under a mango tree near a small bush village in northern Benin. The meal was an expression of the love and warm hospitality of these Christian brothers and sisters.
Our visit to Benin began on Oct. 15. For the next 16 days we would visit every section of this west African country, from the southern coastal town of Porto Nova to the northern village of Tanguieta, and our lives would be dramatically and permanently altered.
Culturally, it was like stepping back to Bible times. Throughout the country, women still carry water pots, huge trays of fruit and just about anything else on their heads. They wash their clothes and bathe in the streams near the villages. There is no running water, heat, electricity, air conditioning ... or showers or bathrooms!
There are few cars. Most walk. "Taxi" service is mainly jimijams (motor scooters) which dart about haphazardly causing endless accidents and loss of life to riders and pedestrians. There is little industry, so people are forced to subsist on what they can grow, barter for or forage from the forest and fields around them.
Voodoo and spiritism are still prevalent, holding the people in bondage to incredible fear and superstition.
At our first stop, Porto Nova, we were warmly hosted by Bobby and Becky Couts, originally from Tennessee. Bobby is the head of the Southern Baptist mission in Benin. He and Becky have lived in this Third-World country 20 years, including a number of years under the communist regime. They endured many difficulties and much persecution. But they stayed because God had called them, and their work was not yet finished. They are now joined by 10 missionary families. Churches are sprinkled throughout the country and reaching into the remotest villages.
How encouraging it was as we went throughout the cities of Porto Nova and Cotonou, then out into remote villages in the interior, to see construction in progress at almost every location: new church buildings or meeting huts for the people to gather, hear the Word of God and fellowship together. How often we heard: "See that? That's your Lottie Moon dollars at work."
Our hearts were warmed as we realized the inestimable difference our "Lottie Moon dollars" were making. Because of the "good news" of Jesus' love and salvation our Southern Baptist missionaries brought to the people, hope has replaced hopelessness; wisdom, new meaning and a clear sense of purpose has dispelled the meaningless existence and fears of voodoo; joy sparks a new zest for living; love has overcome hatred and strife. There is peace in the hearts and peace in the homes.
We spent two days in Cotonou, then en route to Allada, we passed through the Portuguese slave trade city of Oidah. What a sobering experience it was to look upon the fort there and be reminded of the indescribable pain and agony of the human beings who had been housed there. I could only think of the prophet Jeremiah's words: "The heart is more deceitful than all else and desperately wicked. Who can understand it" (Jer. 17:9).
Allada is the "capital" of voodoo in Benin. There were fetishes and voodoo temples everywhere. Fear and superstition ruled the city -- until missionaries Jeff and Rene Hale arrived to share the "good news."
At first they were persecuted and harassed endlessly by fetishers who did not want them interfering with their control of the people. The people remained under this oppression, constantly sacrificing chickens or goats to appease the gods or worshiping wooden idols and icons sold by the fetishers. But Jeff and Rene stayed and ministered to the people, helping them with their physical, emotional and medical needs, feeding and clothing them, teaching them simple hygiene practices and sharing the love of Jesus.
Rene is an accomplished musician who left a very promising career as a concert violinist to come here. Yet, when questioned about it, Rene radiated confidence and a deep joy. "I'm where the Lord wants me, doing what he has called me to do," she said. "That's all that really matters."
At the end of the long, dusty, bumpy eight-hour trek to Tanguieta, we were greeted by the warm hospitality of Wycliffe missionaries Paula and Leon Hoover and their three children, Luke, Natalie and Nicole. Leon is a Bible translator/linguist working with the Benin government to codify the Mbelime language into written form. He showed us the long, labor-intensive process. What dedication!
It was encouraging to see how closely our Southern Baptist missionaries work with missionaries in other organizations. They put aside denominational barriers, uniting efforts for the sole purpose of obeying Christ's command to take the gospel into all the world and make disciples.
"We need each other," Leon told us. "The Baptists are great evangelists and church planters. But they don't have the time or training to do translation work. I don't have time to plant churches and disciple converts. So I work night and day to translate the Bible and your missionaries take it to the people and use it to teach and train them so they can tell others and bring even more into the kingdom of God. I think this is how God wants us to fulfill the Great Commission."
During the 20-hour journey back to the United States, I often thought about all the unfounded fears I had before I became a Christian. The thought of being sent to Africa as a missionary had been frightening. I can remember praying after I did become a Christian, "Dear God, please don't send me to Africa."
Yet, there was not one person Mel and I met on this trip who did not radiate a joy I haven't seen in this country for a long, long time. The missionaries were not there begrudgingly. They were there lovingly, joyfully, thankfully. They were there because God had blessed them and graciously called them to serve these people. They were exactly where God wanted them to be and they wouldn't want to be anywhere, doing anything else in all the world.
By the time we left, I understood why. My heart had grown to love this country and the beautiful people who live and work and share together the wonderful life-changing love of Jesus.
And you know what? I miss Africa now. I really do. I miss it a lot. Thank you, Lord, for sending me ... to Africa.
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Blowers, a frequent missions volunteer, is a member of Mt. Yonah Baptist
Church, Cleveland, Ga.
Copyright (c) 1996 Baptist Press
RNbp6307mrjB307k6312
Mannu grew up in a strict Hindu family in Nepal. But at the age of fifteen, through her friends, she became a Christian. Her parents forced her to choose between them and Christ. Mannu sadly left home and was unable to reconcile with her parents before they died. In 1970 she married Adon Rongong and began a church in their living room.
But in 1981 their plans were cut short. Her husband was arrested and jailed for witnessing to Hindus. The case was finally brought to trial in 1989, and he was sentenced to six years in prison. When the sentence was complete he was banned from the country. Mannu appealed her case to the King, even indicating that she was willing to take his place if the appeal were denied. The King did not overturn the decision nor did he accept her offer.
Mannu struggled about whether she and their three children should leave the country with him, or stay and carry on the ministry. She had been instrumental in starting prayer groups of women throughout the country. She traveled from village to village encouraging the women. She searched the Scriptures and the Lord spoke to her through the verses, "If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you... I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land" (Jeremiah 42:10-12, NIV).
With this promise in her heart, Mannu told her husband she would not leave Nepal. But miracles happen and in early 1990 the constitution of the country changed. Adon was able to continue his work in Nepal, and Mannu realized that like Esther of the Bible, she had been called for such a time as this. Today there are more than 2,000 members in the church which began in their living room. Her husband Adon served as chairman of HIMCOE '96.
In his sermon "Tide Riding," the late Bruce Thielemann accomplished both of these effects in one short passage: "My first pastorate was in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, which was famous at that time for having the world's largest steel-tube rolling mills .... Many was the time I stood in one of those great machines ... with the man operating the machine. I'd see a great serpent of molten metal come slithering down into the machine, and it would be chopped off. Then the machine would grab it by its end and begin to spin. By centrifugal force, that bar of metal would open from the inside out .... I asked the men directing those machines, `What's the most important ingredient in the process?'
"The answer was always the same: `It's the temperature of the metal. If it is too hot, it will fly apart; if it is too cold, it will not open as it ought. Unless you catch the molten moment, you cannot make the perfect tube.'
"Unless we catch those molten moments when character can develop, we miss our opportunities just as the disciples did."
Thielemann heightens our interest in the steel mill by introducing the snake metaphor, and then he uses "molten moments" as a tangible way to talk about the abstract concept of opportunity.
If Tomorrow Never Comes
"""""""""""""""""""""""
If I knew it would be the last time
that I’d see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
call you back for one more.
If I knew it would be the last time
I’d hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute or two
To stop and say “I love you,” instead
of assuming you would KNOW I do.
If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I’m sure you’ll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.
For surely there’s always tomorrow
To make up for an oversight,
And we always get a second chance
To make everything right.
There will always be another day
To say our “I love yous”,
And certainly there’s another chance
To say our “Anything I can dos?”
But just in case I might be wrong,
And today is all I get,
I’d like to say how much I love you
And I hope we never forget,
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
Young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
You get to hold your loved one tight..
So if you’re waiting for tomorrow,
Why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
You’ll surely regret the day,
That you didn’t take that extra time
For a smile, a hug, or a kiss
And you were too busy to grant someone,
What turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today,
Whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
And that you’ll always hold them dear,
Take time to say “I’m sorry,” “please forgive me,”
“Thank you” or “it’s okay.”
And if tomorrow never comes,
You’ll have no regrets about today.
Is It Later Than You Think?
Someone has prepared a very interesting time table. It made a mathematical parallel of a life span with a 24 hour day.
If studied, it will cause you rather serious reflection. See what you have accomplished or left unaccomplished:
If you are 15 years old it's 8:51 AM.
If you are 20 it's 11:08 AM.
If you are 25 it's 12:25 PM.
If you are 30 it's 1:25 PM.
If you are 35 it's 2:59 PM.
If you are 40 it's 4:16 PM.
If you are 45 it's 5:43 PM.
If you are 50 it's 6:50 PM.
If you are 55 it's 8:08 PM.
If you are 60 it's 10:11 PM.
If you are 70 it's approaching midnight.
When the bell tolls for you at the midnight hour of death, on which side of God's judgment seat will you stand?
What are you doing with your life?
--East Hill News, Pulaski, TN
J.C. Penney in his early days -- when he first started the chain -- would look up and down the street at 10 o'clock each night before he closed the store ... just in case there was a customer. That is the way he built that chain. There was a Studebaker dealer once -- I owned a Studebaker myself -- some of you young people probably don't even know what a Studebaker is ... Well no one had ever told this dealer that Studebakers didn't sell. He sold Studebakers like crazy... when they weren't selling anywhere else, he was selling them. He would go out at 10 p.m. and literally squat down and look up and down the street to be sure there wasn't someone else who wanted a Studebaker before he closed.
That is ownership. That is the way ownership thinks. That is the concern of ownership.
While holding a meeting at the Capital of North Carolina, a door was opened which in a very simple way resulted in the conversion of the Governor of the State, and his wife. It was this:
During the progress of the meeting, some fifty converts were received into the church. The church met one afternoon to hear their experience. Among these converts were the Governor's daughters. When they asked their father's consent to join this church, he was not only willing, but said to them:
“Your mother and myself will attend and hear your reason for believing yourselves Christians.”
The pastor asked all those who intended to join that church to come near the pulpit for the convenience of the church. I noticed when these daughters passed out of the pew as requested, the Governor rose to his feet and passed them out very pleasantly. The pastor, during the examination of these converts, asked me if I had any question to ask them. I said I will ask the governor a question, which was this:
“I noticed, Governor, when your daughters passed out of the pew to come forward, you passed them out pleasantly. Do you give your daughters to Christ and this church, heartily?”
He rose to his feet and made an expressive bow, and said: “I do, sir.”
This was the arrow that reached his heart. He had given his daughters to Christ and the church heartily, but where were their father and mother. That night, while looking over the matter alone before God, he resolved to go into a room alone and settle his account with God before he slept. He went into the room and closed his door, and found that Christ had met every demand against him. He bowed before God and felt the evidence of pardon and justification. The great work was done.
The next morning as we prayed with his wife she gave herself to Christ, and the father and mother followed the example of their daughters, and all became members of that church.
Ten years after, I was there again and found the Governor an active worker, and one of the main pillars in that church. This was the open door entered, and the results.
Let me ask every one who reads this, to be fully prepared and watch your opportunity, and effectual doors will open for you to enter and do much good.
“In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand, for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.”
__________
A. B. Earle, From: “Incidents Used ... In His Meetings,” published in 1888 SELECTED SERMON ILLUSTRATIONS
Be not like the foolish drunkard, who, staggering home one night,
saw his candle lit for him. "Two candles!" said he, for his
drunkenness made him see double. "I will blow out one." As he blew it
out, in a moment he was in the dark. Many a man sees double through
the drunkenness of sin. He thinks that he has one life to sow his wild
oats in, and then the last part of his life in which to turn to God.
So, like a fool, he blows out the only candle that he has, and in the
dark he will have to lie down forever. --W. Wyatt Gill
A man was sitting at twilight dreaming in his easy chair. He
thought he saw the figure of a beautiful being glide into the room and
approach him with outstretched hands. He gazed upon the angelic
creature and was filled with delight at her graceful movements and the
radiance that shone about her. He wondered greatly what was the
meaning of this apparition, but made no motion himself until he saw
the figure begin to draw back and gradually to fade from his sight.
Then he came suddenly to the consciousness that he was about to lose
entirely the presence of this bright being and, springing from his
chair, he sought to detain her. But the form vanished, and when he
called out to her to return a voice replied sadly, "You should have
held me while I was there. My name is Lost Opportunity. I can never
come again." --S. S. Lesson Illustrator
Scientific measurements indicate that we are moving even when we
are standing still. Continental land masses sit on enormous slabs of
rock that slide very slowly at the rate of 1 to 8 inches per year.
America is gradually moving westward, away from Europe, at the rate of
3 inches per year.
Our Milky Way galaxy is hurtling through space at 375 miles per
second or 1.3 million miles per hour. But that's not all. Within our
own galaxy the sun and its solar system are zooming along at 12.4
miles
per second (43,000 mph) in the direction of the star Vega in the
constellation Lyra.
Just as we are hurtling through the heavens at unimaginable speeds,
so too we are moving from here to eternity. Our days and
opportunities to live for the Lord pass so rapidly that we cannot
afford to waste time.
Acts of kindness, words of appreciation, ministries of affection,
have their "Now," their "Today," and to say "When I have a more
convenient season" to these great opportunities is to bid them depart
from you.
I did not know how short your day would be!
I had you safe, and words could wait awhile.
And yet, your eyes begged tenderness of me Behind their smile.
And now, for you so dark, so long, is night!
I speak, but on my knees, unheard alone.
What words were these to make a short day bright,
If I had known! Ah, love, if I had known!
I was driving down a bumpy country road when I saw a bag of cement
beside the road. It appeared to have fallen off a delivery truck as
it hit one of the bumps in the rough road. Being a person who does not
like to see anything wasted, I stopped to pick up the lost bag of
cement. When I reached down to pick up this heavy bag, to my
surprise, I discovered it was not soft and limber, as I had expected
but had solidified into an immovable piece of cement. Often our lives
are like that bag of cement. They take on shapes that were not
intended and become hardened in that shape. That bag of cement was
meant to become a part of some beautiful structure but, because it did
not reach its place of service, it became a useless rock in the form
of a bag of cement. God wants to make something beautiful of your
life. Don't let this purpose be thwarted by a bump in the road of
life.
A man in Massachusetts had an unreasonable grudge against his
minister that lasted twenty-five years. But at last the hand of death
knocked at the door of the parishioner, and he sent for his pastor.
The good man hastily obeyed the summons with a solemn delight, as his
being thus called showed a mellowing of the heart of the dying man,
which promised reconciliation both with heaven and himself. "You sent
for me?" he said, as he approached the bedside. "Yes," answered the
dying man, whose breath was now short and difficult. "I have but a few
hours to live, and I sent for you to say that this is your last your
last chance to apologize!"
Alas! how many will, when too late, regret their neglect of, or contempt for Christ! A Few years ago, the Prime Minister of England stepped across Downing Street with a friend, who wanted some information from one of the Government officials. They entered the particular office, and on inquired for the Head of the Department. They were curtly told to “wait” by an insolent young clerk, who did not even look up from his newspaper. Presently, he added the order to “wait outside.”
When the principal official returned, he was thunderstruck to find the Head of the Government sitting with his friend on the steps of the stone staircase. Equally surprised was the clerk, when, to his dismay, he learned by his dismissal the result of his careless insolence.
In earthly things, men bitterly regret “chances” lost or thrown away, and yet we treat with indifference our opportunities in the spiritual life. With slow and sorrowful steps the compassionate Savior obeyed these requests, and departed from those souls whom He would have so gladly blessed. -- W. Hardman
He was a young cragsman away in the North; and one day, when
gathering sea birds eggs, he let himself down by a rope over the brow
of a precipice to a ledge far below. As he stood on that ledge the
rope slipped and there it swung far out above the abyss. It swung
towards him again. Suddenly he realized that when the rope returned in
his direction the first time it would then be nearer to his reach than
it ever would be again--and that would not be very near. What was to
be done? Yonder slowly the rope came back. If he lost this chance, the
next would be worse. He braced himself for the spring: he leaped and
laid hold of the rope; and he nigh fainted on the ledge as he bound
himself again firmly to the rope to be swung up.
Christ has been near you, perhaps many a time nearer to you, than
He has been tonight. I do not deny that but this is God's truth: that
Christ is nearer to you now than He ever will be again. If you let Him
go, there is less chance, less hope for you, tomorrow than to night.
--John Robertson
Johann Gutenberg was not satisfied with the status Quo. What did
he do? He simply combined two previously unconnected ideas to create
an innovation. He refused to limit his thinking to the singular
purpose of the wine press or to the solitary use of the coin punch.
One day he entertained an idea no one else had ever thought of: "What
if I took a bunch of coin punches and put them under the force of the
wine press so that they left their images on paper instead of metal?"
From that womb the printing press was born. What limits in your
thinking is God challenging today?
Often people of Asian, African, and Spanish minority groups have
been taught that they are genetically and intellectually inferior. Now
that's a farce, a mask, a lie! If people say that one race is
superior or inferior to another, don't you believe it! A good friend
of mine, a black man named George Johnson, has experienced racism. He
grew up in Chicago, polishing shoes in a barber shop. George used to
hear his black friends say, "I wish I could straighten my hair." One
day while George was shining a man's shoes, he asked him, "What do you
do?" "I'm a chemist," the man replied. "What do chemists do?" George
asked. "I mix things," the man explained. "Do you think
you could mix something that would straighten my hair?" The chemist
said, "Maybe I can put something together." He did. George tried it
on his hair and it worked. He bottled the product and sold it to some
of his friends and a few stores. Soon he built a sales force to sell
"Ultra-Sheen". Today, George Johnson's personal fortune is over
several million dollars. That's not bad for someone who was once a
shoeshine boy. --Robert Schuller
I was crossing the, Atlantic a short time ago, and one night I and
some of the passengers were talking to the captain, when he told us of
an incident that had occurred to him in that neighborhood some years
previously. He was in command of a vessel, which had got thus far on
her voyage, when the screw broke, and the engineer withdrew the shaft
with the intention of repairing it; but the water rushed in through
the hole, the bulkhead was not closed in time, and in a few minutes
the ship began to sink. The boats were got out, the captain stepping
into one laden to the gunwale. The night was dark, and the sea so
rough that it seemed impossible for the boat to stay afloat. After a
while, they saw the lights of an approaching steamer; but how could
they signal it?
They made search in the boat, and found a battered lantern with an
inch or two of candle in it. Then they tried to find a match. Every
man felt in his pockets, but in vain. Not a match was to be found. The
captain bade them search again, and at last, out of some corner, one
match was produced. The man who found it handed it to the mate; the
mate passed it to another officer, and he gave it to the captain. The
sailors clustered round him, holding out their jackets to keep off the
wind, and they watched him with anxiety. The captain said he had faced
many a difficulty and danger, but had never felt such responsibility
as at that moment when he had to strike the match, but he did it. The
lantern was lighted, and when it was waved to and fro the ship saw the
signal, altered its course, and picked them up.
Now, what gave such value to that match? It was the only one. Your
life is your only one in this world. Misdirected, so as to cause your
soul to be lost, you have no other in which to remedy the error.
--Henry Drummond
Leo Gerstenzang thought of "Q-Tips" when he saw his wife trying to
clean their baby's ears with toothpicks and cotton. Otto Diffenbach
came up with the cellophane soda straws when he twisted the wrapper
from a cigarette pack and saw he had created a tube. King C. Gillette
had been looking for a throw-away product ever since having a
conversation with the inventor of pop bottle caps. When he found his
razor dull, he thought of the safety razor with disposable blades.
Ole Evinrude got angry when the ice cream in his rowboat melted before
he got to his island picnic spot and invented the outboard motor.
Ralph Schneider decided to form Diners Club one night after he lost
his wallet. Charles Strite was fuming at the burnt toast in the
factory lunchroom where he worked and thought up the automatic
toaster. --Karl Vesper
When the old Romans used to attack a city, it was sometimes their
custom to set up at the gate a white flag, and if the garrison
surrendered while that white flag was there, their lives were spared.
After that, the black flag was put up, and then every man was put to
the sword. The white flag is up today; perhaps tomorrow the black flag
will be elevated upon the pole of the law; and then there is no
repentance or salvation either in this world, or in that which is to
come. --C. H. Spurgeon
A little boy wanted a taste of molasses from the large barrel by the door of an old fashioned country store. He slid a box beside the barrel, stepped up on it and leaned over the rim as far as possible, stretching out his finger toward the sweet goo below. He stretched and strained and toppled headfirst into the barrel.
Dripping with molasses, he stood up, lifted his eyes heavenward and was heard to utter, “Lord, help me to make the most of this fantastic opportunity!”
A quality that some people possess is the ability to take whatever life gives them and turn it into an opportunity. David Boren must be such a man. The Oklahoma politician learned from professional pollsters that he would most likely lose his gubernatorial bid, and lose it big. The professional polling agency he hired reported his strength to be about two percent of the population.
His first reaction was to quit. But he finally decided to turn his bad news into an opportunity. He told his listeners, “I had a professional poll taken and it shows I've got great potential for increasing my support!”
That sounded a whole lot better than it was! But he eventually won the election and served as governor of the state of Oklahoma.
Will you accept the creative challenge to take what life gives you and turn it into an opportunity? If so, watch out! Something exciting just might happen!
*
[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #9483]
Driving down the Georgia coast a few years ago, without any particular reason for doing so, I turned aside from the main highway, and driving through the marshes celebrated in the songs of Sidney Lanier, crossed over to St. Simon’s Island, an enchanting spot washed by the waves of the Atlantic and shaded by immense live oaks. I had heard that John Wesley once preached beneath an oak tree on this island when he was in Georgia. Remembering that the oak was in the old churchyard, I entered the quiet acre so that I might stand beneath that historic tree. Walking along the path by the graves, I was suddenly arrested by the sight of a familiar name. I stopped in surprise, and read the name and dates again to make sure. But there was no mistake. There it was -- “Lucien Lamar Knight,” one of my classmates in the seminary.
Long after the time when most men enter the ministry, he felt the urge to preach the gospel, gave up a lucrative post as associate of the celebrated Henry Grady on the Atlanta Constitution, and entered theological seminary. There, his notable gifts were remarked by all, and everyone predicted for him a brilliant and useful career in the ministry. But an unfortunate marriage wrecked his career as a preacher, and led him to resign from the ministry. He gave himself to historical studies and was, for a time, state historian of Georgia.
On his grave, was an eloquent epitaph which he himself had prepared, speaking not of himself but of his desire to sleep in those beautiful and historic surroundings, which recalled to me the accents of his silvery tongue as I remembered him preaching in his seminary days.
To me, there was something deeply moving, stirring, and arresting in my coming suddenly upon the grave of a classmate on the lonely and remote island. It seemed as if the hand of Providence had turned me aside from the main road and the beaten highway southward, and brought me to this island grave of my old friend under the shadow of the mournful oaks. Standing there, I thought of the eloquent tongue now stilled in that grave and these words came to me: “There is...a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” (Ecclesiastes 3:7)
I did not think of them in the way they are usually taken -- a time when speech is silver and silence is golden. What I thought was, that there is a time when we can speak, when we ought to speak, and also a time when we cannot speak, even if we would. My friend and classmate had come to a time when, so far as this life was concerned, he could speak no longer. It was not strange, then, that this sudden coming on his resting place on that lonely island should have filled me with a new desire to speak more earnestly in the great accents of the gospel while I have the opportunity, and while it is called Today.
________
McCartney
"We are all faced with great opportunities . . . Brilliantly disguised as impossible situations."
- Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-Fil-A restaurants
A respected businessman was once asked to share with others the secret of his success. He said, "My achievements in life have been guided by three words - 'and then some.'" He went on to explain that early in life he discovered the difference between successful people and the mediocre was the willingness to go the extra mile.
"The top people did what was expected of them - and then some. They were thoughtful to others; they were considerate and kind - and then some. They met their obligations and responsibilities fairly and squarely - and then some. They were good friends to their friends - and then some. They could be counted on in an emergency - and then some."
God encourage each of us to earn our living to the best of our ability, to use our energy wisely, and to share Jesus Christ faithfully - and then some.
See \reference{Proverbs 20:13}{Proverbs 20:13}
- Mark Sutton, {Day to Day Devotions, }Missions Today, Feb.
1996, p. 25.
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