Categories: Weekly Messages

2019.06.16 Sunday Message

 

Don’t Miss the Moment of Opportunity

1 Samuel 10:7
Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

Psalm 32:6
Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.

What is an opportunity?

An opportunity is the right time to carry out a certain action. It is the moment you meet what you have wanted to do. Opportunities don’t just come at certain times or under specific circumstances, but they are always with you. Regardless of location or time, if you are “sleeping” both in life and in faith, you will miss the opportunities that come to you.

Opportunities are God, the Holy Spirit, and the Lord.

How do we gain opportunities?

We gain opportunities by seizing the chances given to us at the present time. The opportunities we need to make and grab hold of are the things that we longed for and wished for in the past. Everybody has their own opportunities they must make and create, and those who take action are the ones who gain those opportunities. Opportunities come in an instant for those who live doing things skillfully and swiftly. We can be swift when we hold onto God and the Lord. But if the opportunity comes and you aren’t prepared with the necessary knowledge and skill, that opportunity will be lost. For example, when playing soccer, you need to be swift in your actions, thoughts, and body in order to shoot the ball into the net. Moreover, opportunities come when you are equipped and skilled in that area.

In order to seize an opportunity, you must command yourself with your thoughts. You should tell your brain to “do this” if it’s something that you’re inspired about or if it’s something that fits God’s Will. Your brain functions according to how you command it, so you must always conduct yourself well. Just as when someone tells you to do something and you do it, you must stimulate your brain, which is the sharpest part of your body and which responds to commands. You also need to control your brain and thoughts to be prepared ahead of time because opportunities come to those who do things in advance.

The thoughts and heart are the ‘spiritual elements’ of the body, so the mind is like an elementary level ‘divine being’ with respect to the body. God created human beings so that we have thoughts with which to communicate with and to love God. Your intelligence is at its peak when your brain is excited with love, so God excites your thoughts to enable you to love. We have to continue developing our thoughts and our spirits so that we can love God endlessly, and we need to grab opportunities that come to help our spirits grow.

Timing is essential when seizing an opportunity

In terms of faith, spiritual inspirations come in an instant, so you must grab them at that moment. If you aren’t careful, or if you’re too careful, the opportunity that pertains to that inspiration will just pass by. Inspirations can flash by within seconds, but God always gives you a sign before an opportunity comes, and that sign is a chance for you to prepare your thoughts and heart.

The way to eternal life is by believing in God and the One sent by God and by seizing the opportunities of the Gospel. By listening to sermons, we fulfill this chance. Each person has their time—their opportunity— to do well. So you have to find your own time. Even though an opportunity comes, people fail to do their absolute best and fail to say the right things. You need to have a focused mind, be alert, be skillful, be equipped, and be faithful to the end. If you do well at each moment, you can do well forever. Everything starts with a problem, but if you keep taking action, eventually you will succeed. However, if you think too much about it, you won’t be able to do it.

People say they don’t have time for faith while living out their daily lives. But we mustn’t think in that way. Rather than thinking you’re tired all the time, take action swiftly and capture the opportunities that are given to you. Those who have realized this and developed their faith have taken possession of the eternal world because they follow God and the Lord. God gives opportunities to every person, so without missing your chance you should strive to receive them. You must realize when opportunities that you have waited and longed for are given to you and value them.