Lost Opportunities

How  many  times have you heard  the expression opportunity only knocks once. In many cases this expression is true. Bill gates is one of the richest men in the world and he will tell the reason why was because he was in the right place at right time and he took advantage of his opportunity. However, many today do not take advantage of their opportunities.We must remember that if we fail to take advantage of an opportunity when it is available, it will soon be gone forever. This same principle is taught in the Bible.

Galatians 6:10: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

You see as Christians, we have a responsibility to watch for opportunities to do good for those who around us, and we must realize that now is the only time that we have. We are going to examine several verses that show how urgent it is for us to take advantage of opportunities while it is still today. Notice what Jesus says in,

John 9:4: "I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

Proverbs 3:27-28: “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.”

Ecclesiastes 9:10:  “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

You see, not only are we not to withhold good from those around us when we do something for someone, we need to do it with all our might. Another reason we need to take advantage of our opportunities today is because we don’t know if we will be here tomorrow or not.

James 4:13-14: “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

From this passage we can see the urgency for every Christian to do God’s will today and not try to put it off till tomorrow because tomorrow may never come. Even Jesus teaches us that we should focus our efforts on today and not tomorrow.

Matthew 6:34: "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

 A second loss opportunity is serving God:  We are going to be judged on how we served God on this earth.

Matthew 25: 31-46:  “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:   For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in, or naked, and clothed thee?  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?   And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:    For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

Jesus makes it very clear that on the judgment day our eternal destination will depend on how we served God, and how we treated the brethren. When you really stop and think about what Jesus has said here, it should really make you think twice about how you treat your brethren.

So let’s try our best not to lose opportunities to serve God.

Thirdly, we do not want to lose the opportunity of being prepared for the Day of Judgement:

Matthew 25:1-13:" Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.    But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” 

The five foolish virgins in parable represents those who are just kind of committed to God, even though they knew that master would be coming. Just like the virgins, we don’t know when our master will return, and we learn very from the Parable that there is great need to stay prepared for the master’s return every day. Again, we see the importance of taking advantage of the opportunities while it is still today. There is great need for us to continually prepare for Jesus’ return.  We must remain prepared by living a faithful life to God every single day. This includes studying God’s Word, prayer, attending every worship service we can, doing good for others, and loving God enough to obey His commands. If we are not committed to serving God with our whole heart, we may find ourselves like the 5 virgins who were not prepared, and when they came back and knocked on the door the Master would not let them in.

I think we need to ask ourselves from time to time, am I prepared to meet the Lord today? Am I doing what I can to prepare for His coming, or am I losing my opportunities due to foolishness and placing importance on the wrong things in life?  

Fourthly and finally, do not lose the opportunity to obey the will of God and be saved. 

2 Corinthians 6:2:  “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Please understand this clear teaching of Paul, because all you have is today. Today is your opportunity to become saved and to have a hope that is more precious than anything you can find on this earth. Think about how much peace will be in your life if you know that you are saved and that heaven will be your home.

Plan of salvation:

Hear the Word of God, believe, obtain faith   -  Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:6

Repent of your sins.                                           -  Luke 13:3

Confess our Lord before men                           -  Romans 10:10; Matthew 10:32

Be baptized for the remission of sins               -  Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21