Lindsie and I recently listened to a great sermon from Dave Kaufmann at Holy Life Tabernacle in Brookings, SD. Dave has a way of presenting the Word of God that makes you leave every service wishing he could preach for another hour. He was also the pastor who officiated my and Lindsie’s wedding. Needless to say, we’re fans of Dave (and his wife Jeanne).
Anyway, we were listening to Dave’s sermon from June 12, 2011 , and he was talking about the importance of pursuing the opportunities God puts into your life and making them into something more. He talked about Zacchaeus, who climbed up in a tree to see Jesus and was invited to have lunch with Jesus as a result, all because he saw an opportunity to get a better look at Jesus and he went for it. Dave emphasized that if Zach had just stayed on the ground like everyone else, Jesus might’ve just walked right by. But because Zacchaeus took the opportunity, it paid off.
Dave also mentioned other Biblical references to similar “making the most of opportunity” situations, but what it made me realize is how many times this comes up in everyday life. For example, in the past 2 weeks, I’ve come across two garage sales selling comic books. Because I took the time to search for garage sales selling comics, I was able to find valuable comics at a VERY cheap price. But, I had to look for the opportunity to find/buy those comics. If I hadn’t kept my eyes open to that possibility, the opportunity would’ve passed me by two Saturdays in a row. And I wouldn’t have known any better either way.
In the same way those comics were waiting for me to find them if I just took the time to search for them, God has opportunities waiting for us if we just take the time to search for them. More importantly, we have to be open to acting on those opportunities when they present themselves.
God wants to help us. He wants to be with us. And He gives us opportunities every day to make that happen. It’s up to us to take the time and effort to climb the tree like Zacchaeus in order to make sure those opportunities don’t pass us by.
To hear more Holy Life Tabernacle sermons, go to www.holylifetabernacle.com and click the “Messages” link in the left sidebar.
